As Lovers Go
by Nefertiri
Summary: Kagome is a very kind and warm person, Sesshoumaru a cold an unfeeling demon. A perfect match? ;-)
1. How the Mighty Fall

_(A/N:) Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I thank you all for not suing me or beating me with a stick for what I've done with the characters ;-)_

_Warnings: Rated for violence and sexual contents in later chapters._

_This is my first Inuyasha fic ever! So please be kind and patient;-) R&R!!_

As Lovers Go

Chapter1: How the Mighty Fall

Sesshoumaru swept his light whip at the dragon youkai in front of him and started to run towards the momentarily distracted beast with supernatural speed.

The bloodlust obvious in his eyes, he lifted his free hand and tore open the dragon's side with his poisonous claws, marvelling at the feeling of slicing hide and flesh alike. Blood splashed out of the wound as the beast screamed in agony, but instead of being weakened it just attacked more fiercely.

The Lord of the Western Lands hardly managed to doge its claws, as it lashed out at him angrily.

He was bleeding from several severe injuries all over his body, too, and felt his usual strength slowly failing him. His armour had been broken by the beast earlier and lay now useless on the ground beneath him.

'Why can't it just die?' he wondered to himself while he made a dive for Toukijin, which he had lost earlier in battle and which was now lying in the grass behind the dragon.

Before he could reach the sword the beast swept its deadly claws at him again. Sesshoumaru felt the sharp claws tearing at the skin of his arm, but he managed to get away with Toukijin fast enough to avoid another severe gash.

While he passed by the form of the other dragon youkai he had just slain, he noticed that it hadn't turned to dust jet, but instead was reforming its body around a pinkish glowing object. His delicate eyebrows shot up in surprise.

A shard of the Shikon No Tama? Instantly he sprinted over to the corpse and took the jewel shard away. When he tried to jump high into the air again, he failed miserably and nearly fell over, hissing from the increasing pain.

Never in his life he had felt such agony, his whole body was aching and his vision was blurring slightly. He touched his aching abdomen tentatively. Lifting his now blood covered hand, he growled in anger and frustration. That beast had just dared to shed his blood, he would make it pay.

The jewel shard explained the astonishing power of the dead youkai, probably the other one had also a shard as it seemed to be even stronger.

Sesshoumaru turned around, this time more carefully, to face the dragon youkai, which came running after him, hissing dangerously: "Thisss isss how the mighty fall, Taiyoukai of the Wessst."

Forcing his eyes to concentrate on the approaching form he could detect a purple glow through on of the gashes at the beast's foreleg.

He made his mind up quickly. "This remains, yet, to be proven, intruder," he drawled icily.

Pulling all his left strength together Sesshoumaru ran towards the beast. Although he felt himself moving much slower than usually, his actions had the desired effect.

When the dragon stopped to pull itself up to its full high, flapping its wings menacingly at Sesshoumaru, he flew into the air and wielded Toukijin at its right foreleg.

When the sword made impact, he felt it cutting through the youkai's flesh and bone. Hot blood splattered all over his face and on his already blood soaked garments.

The beast let out a piercing howl when its leg containing the jewel shard fell to the ground in some distance.

But before the dying dragon youkai collapsed on the ground, it hit Sesshoumaru's tight with its sparked tail hard, while he was on his way back to the ground. He screamed in pain when he heard his bones break and his vision went suddenly black.

Landing face down in the dirt, it took him all his willpower to look up and check on the beast. It lay in the grass dying a short distance away from him. He saw it turning into dust when its last breath had escaped its flaring nostrils.

Farer away he noticed three jewel shards where the beast's foreleg had been. Obviously they had been to far away from their owner to keep it alive.

Now, as the adrenaline slowly left his body, he felt his powers leaving along with it. The enormous blood loss was draining all his energy.

Sesshoumaru tried to get up but failed and fell back to the by now blood soaked ground. Knowing that he would surely die if he didn't succeed in getting up and back to his castle soon, he tried again. He managed to pull the unharmed leg under his body, supporting his upper body with his arms, he pushed up.

Moaning in agony he again fell back to the ground. More pain shot through his body from the impact. It was useless, he was to weak.

Slowly the Lord of the Western Land's eyes slid close as he drifted into unconsciousness.

oOooOooOooOooOooOo

Kagome just couldn't go on any more. She had been running all day, deeper and deeper into the forest, farther and farther away from the place were Inuyasha and her friends had battled some of Naraku's monsters.

Now she didn't understand anymore why she had listened to Inuyasha as he had screamed for her to run away as fast as possible.

One of the youkai had followed her into the forest and had hunted her mercilessly. But somehow it had lost her and she could escape.

She sighed in frustration, now she was in a godforsaken place in the woods and had no idea how to get back to her friends. Kagome just hoped they were all well and would find her soon.

'Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku and my dear, little Shippo... I just hope you are all fine,' she thought.

Sitting down on a rock nearby, she put her yellow backpack next to bow and arrows down on the ground. She took out a bottle of water and drank thirstily.

Then she felt it: Jewel shards, four of them to be more precisely and the presence of a powerful youkai.

'Oh no, and I thought I ran it out.' Kagome grabbed her bow, arrows and backpack and hid behind a tree.

Nothing happened. The shards didn't move, neither did the youkai. She waited another few minutes before she stepped from behind the tree and walked carefully in the direction of the shards.

In front of a clearing she came to an halt and surveyed it, careful not to give away her presence.

On the other side of the clearing a demon was lying in the grass, obviously badly hurt and bleeding from several wounds.

Then she saw three pieces of the Shikon glittering in the grass. Looking back to the youkai, her eyes widened in recognition. "Sesshoumaru", she whispered before she ran over to his still form.

Kneeling besides him she considered whether it was a wise thing to help him or not. Probably he would kill her, but eying his battered body more closely she came to the conclusion that he wasn't a thread at the moment.

Still she didn't know what to do. Inuyasha would be furious if she helped his hated half-brother.

But she couldn't leave him here on his own, he would probably die. As for Kagome all life was sacred she didn't hesitate anymore.

'Nobody will die if I can help it, not even Sesshoumaru,' she thought with resolution.

Carefully, as not to do more damage to the Western Lord's body, she turned him around.

She gasped, when she saw the real extend of his injuries: Two deep gashes which lead from his stomach to his ribs, she actually could see one of them. Another wound was on his upper arm and his right leg was broken and lay beneath him in an abnormal angle.

There were also some bruises and minor gashes on his chest and face. Kagome was shocked beyond all means, what the hell could have done this to him?

Suddenly she remembered the jewel pieces, probably he had fought and killed the thing carrying them.

Then she noticed an other curious fact: 'How did he get back that arm of his so quickly?'

It seemed to be his own, not attached or anything, but more like it had really regenerated itself.

Before examining Sesshoumaru's injuries any further, she fetched the Shikon shards, purified them with her touch and added them to the incomplete jewel dangling from a chain around her neck.

Then she went back to kneel next to the injured taiyoukai. He had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and Kagome felt his temperature. Obviously he had high fever which had to be caused by an infection in his wounds.

'Probably he has been lying here for some time,' she thought, 'he is lucky to be still alive. But what do I do now?'

First she needed some water to clean him up. After some searching she found a little river and filled a bowl from her backpack with water.

Returning to the still unconscious demon lord, she took a washcloth and started to clean him. It took her quite a while as blood and dirt were all over him and she had to remove it carefully.

Kagome decided to remove his tattered, blood soaked haori and kimono completely, too. Peeling the layers of cloth from his upper body and tossing the dirty silk aside, she couldn't stop herself from noticing his beauty, despite the state he was in.

If it weren't for the ugly wounds, cuts and bruises, his body would be perfect. Brushing a few silver stands from his face absentmindedly, she noticed that it looked peaceful and almost angelic when it was relaxed and held not the usual stoic and cold expression.

'Bad, bad Kagome! How can you think such things about HIM?? The guy tries to kill you and your friends on a regular basis!' She scolded herself mentally and went back to cleaning his wounds and body.

After accomplishing the task she disinfected his wounds with some alcohol she brought with her for emergencies.

She couldn't stitch the gashes together before she wasn't sure that the infection was gone, so she just put some herbs on the wounds, as Kaede had taught her, and bandaged them.

Then she rearranged his broken leg and bandaged it along with a stick, which she had found earlier, to keep it straight. As his pants were made of the finest and thinnest silk Kagome had ever touched, it wasn't necessary to remove them. A fact for which she was, indeed, very grateful.

She knew from experience with Inuyasha that demon blood mended broken bones very well. For Inuyasha it had never taken longer than a week to heel a broken limb and it should go a lot faster with a full blood demon like Sesshoumaru.

Kagome sat back on the ground next to her patient. Her body was exhausted and protested against any movement she made.

It was almost evening by now and the clearing was darkening slowly. Suddenly Kagome felt a wet drop on her nose, then another one on her hand.

Looking up to the sky she sighed. 'Gods, what have I done to deserve this. As if it wouldn't be enough to trap me in the middle of the forest with a nearly dead Sesshoumaru! Why does it have to rain today of all days??'

Carefully she got up again, stretching her aching back and arms. Looking around the clearing she searched for some kind of shelter. All she saw was a big tree with some bushes next to it, whose branches and leaves seemed to offer some protection from the rain.

'It'll have to do. There isn't much choice anyway.'

She looked down to the taiyoukai's still form. 'But how do I get him there?'

After some considerations, Kagome realized that there was no other possibility than dragging him over. Shrugging she knelt down above his head, put her arms under his and pulled.

'Puuh, he is heavy.'

Pulling some more, she heard him moan in protest, although still unconscious. Apparently she was inflicting more pain on his body.

"I'm sorry. But I can't let you get all wet out here."

That was really sick, she was talking to a unconscious demon lord while dragging him over a clearing! Sometimes she desired nothing more than to be back home in her comfortable, warm house, with warm food and a warm bed to sleep in, without having ever heard of the feudal era! This definitely was one of these moments!

After having succeeded in moving Sesshoumaru over to the bushes she went back into the now pouring rain to get her backpack, bow, arrows and the things she had removed earlier from the taiyoukai's body.

When she returned to their shelter she was really wet. The water was dripping from her hair and clothes, as she put down his belongings next to him.

'Luckily my backpack is waterproof,' Kagome thought as she pulled some dry clothes out of it.

Eyeing Sesshoumaru closely, Kagome decided that it was save to change next to him. And after casting a glace around the satisfyingly empty clearing, she changed out of her usual school uniform into a pair of jeans and a white jumper.

Being now much warmer, she felt better almost immediately. When she lit a fire to prepare her dinner of instant noodles, she noticed that the demon next to her was shivering violently from cold and fever. He had wrapped his tail around himself for warmth unconsciously, but it evidently didn't help much.

'Somehow I need to keep him warm, too,' she mused.

Then she remembered the second sleeping back she had brought along. Kagome smoothed it out next to him and somehow also managed to put him into it.

She closed the zipper around him and pulled his hair out of his face, which she noticed was partly also stained with blood.

His face held a frown and his head tossed from time to time, while he was absorbed in feverish dreams. She definitely had to do something about the fever.

As she hadn't brought any antibiotics or other medicine to get the fever down, there was no other possibility than some herbs, which might help, and cold water to lower his temperature.

Kagome cleared the bowl of the remaining dirty water, which she had fetched earlier, and placed it out into the falling rain to refill it. Meanwhile her noodles were finished and she started to eat hungrily.

Sitting there, eating her dinner, she realized how tiered and groggy she really was and it was quite hard to keep her eyes open when she had finished her noodles.

Kagome put her eating bowl also in the rain to clean it and fetched the other one.

Then she took a fresh wash cloth from her backpack, dipped it into the bowl with cold rain water and put it on Sesshoumaru's forehead.

Far too tired to do anything else she smoothed out her own sleeping bag next to him and crawled in, pulling her bow and arrows towards her, just in case.... But she prayed to all gods she knew that nothing would come for them tonight, as in her current state she wasn't able to stay awake and fend off any more monsters. Then she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and drifted off to sleep.

oOooOooOooOooOooOo

Kagome woke in the middle of the night from a strange sound. Her eyes shot open and it took her a moment to remember were she was and what had happened to her.

Then there was that curious sound again and Kagome sat upright in her sleeping bag, bow and arrow ready to take aim. She looked around to detect the source of the noise.

Her gaze fell on Sesshoumaru's sleeping form; he was tossing in the sleeping bag, talking and murmuring in his sleep, still suffering from the effects of his fever. Kagome sighed in relief and put her bow down again, when she noticed that she woke from the sound of his voice.

Then she crawled out of her sleeping bag and crouched next to the distressed Taiyoukai. The washcloth had fallen from his forehead some time ago because of his trashing. Taking it from the grass she dipped it into the bowl again and started to wash the sweat off his face.

He was definitely talking, but in some language Kagome didn't understand. She wondered of what horrors he was dreaming.

Although the demon lord was their sworn enemy it pained her to see him like that: Suffering from his wounds and shaking violently because of the chill and his fever, Kagome felt honestly sorry for him. She was cold, too, and shivered slightly, but she couldn't go back to sleep and leave him like that.

Putting the wet cloth back on his forehead, she started to stroke his face, talking gently to him: "Shhhhh, you don't need to worry. There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just a bad dream."

As if he was able to hear and process her hushed words of comfort, his tossing and turning ceased slowly.

Kagome smiled slightly despite the situation and went on caressing his face and hair, it was so much softer than she had expected, like liquid silk.

But his skin was so very hot. The fever seemed to have risen during the night. Kagome didn't know much about how a youkai body reacted to illness, but such high fever would most likely kill a human.

She was afraid, she didn't want him to die, but she didn't know what else to do to help him. Still she wasn't able to comprehend why she was so eager to keep him alive. Presumably because of the simple fact that he was hurt and needed help, and Kagome, being the kind person she was, would never refuse help when somebody needed it.

"You don't need to be afraid, I won't let you die. You will be better tomorrow, I promise. Everything is better in the morning, you know? Each new day brings new hope. It is bright and warm, and the chill and the terrors of the night are gone. Don't you know?"

One single tear rolled down her face. She hadn't realized before, but she was so very desperate. Every noise the wind and the down pouring rain caused scared the hell out of her. She was cold and lonely and frightened.

The ongoing rain made it nearly impossible for Inuyasha to find her scent and follow her; only in case he was still alive and well enough to search for her.

Another tear escaped her. "Inuyasha, where are you? Please, please find me here," she whispered. Then she pulled her sleeping bag towards her and lay down next to Sesshoumaru, curling up to his feverishly hot body.

'I need some sleep, I can't go on like this.' Kagome hid her face in the futon and willed herself to sleep.

oOooOooOooOooOooOo

Kagome woke very comfortable and warm the next morning. Opening her eyes and blinking lazily she noticed he surrounding.

The rain had stopped and the autumn sun was rising slowly behind the clouds. Again the events of the last day and night flashed through her mind.

She raised her head to check that they were still alone on the clearing, when she realized that it had been lying on Sesshoumaru's chest. Kagome blushed a deep shade of red and moved a little bit away from his body.

The demon lord seemed to be still unconscious. Extending her small hand to his forehead, she noticed that he didn't feel as hot as he had last night. She traced the crescent moon on his forehead and noticed that it felt smooth, like the rest of his skin, but still too hot.

Sighing in relief that the fever wasn't at least that high anymore, she put the wet washcloth back to his forehead.

"I told you, you would be better in the morning," the girl lectured the Taiyoukai.

Then she got up and relit the fire to make some tea and breakfast. Taking her kettle and her wash bag with her, she went to the stream and cleaned herself.

After returning to their little camp she set the kettle to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, she cleaned the eating bowl she had used last night and hung her wet uniform on a low branch to dry over the fire.

When she was about to put the remains of Sesshoumaru's clothes out of the way she noticed another jewel splitter falling out of it.

'Ah, there's the fourth one. But why did he have it in his garments?' she pondered. Kagome was really curious about what had happened to the Western Lord.

When she noticed his weapons still lying where she had put them last night, she decided that it would be safer to take them out of his reach, just in case.... His belt, containing his other belongings, stayed next to his unconscious form.

The rest of the morning passed quite uneventful. Kagome arranged her little camp as comfortable as possible and shortly before lunchtime she went to look for some herbs in the woods.

Having changed Sesshoumaru's bandages earlier, she now was looking for something to lower the still high temperature. Soon she found what she had sought and returned.

Kagome set the kettle to boil again. Kaede had told her, that these herbs only took effect if they were prepared and consumed like tea. When the water was boiling finally, she took it of the fire and threw some of the herbs in, waiting for the water to change colour.

Sesshoumaru felt horrible. His body was aching all over and he was cold. Unable to open his eyes or process what had happened to him he almost drifted of into blackness again.

Then his sensitive nose picked up a scent. It smelt like spring, like sunlight on a meadow full of flowers. But it was autumn, how was that possible?

Still in a haze he noticed the scent becoming more intense and then he felt warmth around him. He heard the melodic voice of a girl talking to him, although he couldn't quite make out the words.

Then he felt somebody touching his face. Although the touch was very gentle, his instincts screamed at him to move away from it, fast. But as his mind protested by the mere thought of movement and he was so very intrigued by the pleasant scent of spring and sunlight, he stayed still.

Absentmindedly, the Western Lord felt his head being lifted carefully. Thinking about it, he rather liked the warm touch. Sesshoumaru noticed that something warm and hard pressed against his lips, which seemed to part on their own free will.

Then a hot fluid was poured into his mouth and he was suddenly yanked out of his dazed state back into reality because it was really HOT and tasted HORRIBLE!

Coughing and sputtering violently he opened his eyes, only to close them again this instant because of the pain the coughing caused his body. Lying completely still he waited till it ebbed away slightly.

"I'm sorry. It was too hot, wasn't it?" the melodic voice said gently and full of regret. This time he understood the words clearly.

"I'll just wait till it has cooled down and we try again," she stated, sounding almost cheeringly again.

'Noooo! I will refuse to swallow another drop of this disgusting thing!' his mind screamed, almost in panic.

Carefully he opened his eyes again. He saw the delicate form of a human girl, with raven hair and strange clothing, who was currently cleaning the remains of the liquid off his chest.

She didn't seem to notice that he was looking at her.

Kagome scolded herself mentally for being so stupid. Why hadn't she thought about it to let the medicine cool before pouring it down his throat. Sesshoumaru was in enough pain as it was without her doing.

Carefully she cleaned away the drops of liquid, which he had spit out all over his chest.

When she had finished, she looked up to clean his face and let out a shriek of surprise falling back on her rear, as she noticed two amber pools watching her intently.

oOooOooOooOooOooOo

_(A/N:) A cliffy! "smirk" I know, I'm evil._

_If you liked the story and want me to continue or have any suggestions for improvements send a review (pretty please)!_

_I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes. English is not my native language and I haven't found a beta reader yet. Any volunteers ? ;-)_


	2. Helping You

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything... but a girl could wish._

_Please R&R!_

**Chapter 2: Helping You**

Sesshoumaru was at a loss. He was lying in a bag-like thing made of a strange, soft fabric. Something wet was on his forehead, his haori was missing, as were his kimono, his belt and his weapons. His body was screaming in agony, his vision was slightly fuzzy because of the fever he evidently had, but his wounds seemed to be well tended to.

Although he could remember the fight with the two dragon youkai, who had trespassed upon his lands, he had no memories of how he had gotten into his current situation. To add to his annoyance, Inuyasha's wench was sitting on her rear and staring at him as if he had grown another head, still holding a piece of cloth in her small hand.

"What do you think you are doing, wench?" He demanded sharply, silently grateful that his smooth voice hadn't failed him. Kagome flinched at his harsh tone and skidded backwards slightly.

"Helping you," she stated, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "I did not ask for your help, girl!" he spat. His mask of indifference and coldness never wavered, although talking so much increased the pain in his body.

Kagome was taken aback by his words. She didn't understand why he was so angry. But she now expected him to jump at her throat each moment and moved a bit further away from him.

"I know. But I couldn't just sit here, knowing that you needed help, and not help you." she explained, her eyes shining with brutal honesty.

Sesshoumaru knew that she was speaking the truth – he would have smelled it if she'd been lying. Her bright, blue eyes seemed to plead with him to understand what she just told him, as if it held some deeper meaning he was unable to comprehend. But it couldn't be as simple as she had said, could it? Nobody would help anybody else without gaining something out of it. That was just not in the nature of any creature.

He smelled her again, but he still couldn't detect a lie. The girl persisted in smelling pleasantly of spring and sunlight, although her scent was tainted with hints of fear and irritation.

Slowly his anger rose because of his own weakness and the absurd situation he was in. Apparently he had depended on the help of this...this..._miko_ and, judging from the ache in his body, he wasn't even fit to look after himself now.

For as long as he could remember, he had never been so badly injured that his youkai healing hadn't sufficed and he needed medical treatment. Damn. If there was one thing he truly despised, it was weakness.

"I, Sesshoumaru, do not need the help of a _human._" he stated coldly, his voice dripping with venom.

Kagome flinched, she hadn't known before that the simple word "human" could be spoken with so much hatred. The demon lord didn't seem to be grateful at all, not even a teensy-little bit. One look at his stoic, arrogant face was enough.

"You arrogant jerk! Who do you think you are? If it weren't for me and my help, which you obviously despise so much, you would be dead by now! But if you'd rather be dead than have accepted my help, I am truly sorry!" She yelled at him.

Sesshoumaru was barely able to keep himself from wincing. Her yelling hurt his sensitive ears and was turning his present headache into a full blown migraine. He felt sick and his vision became even fuzzier during her outburst.

All he could still see clearly were the human miko's eyes. The Taiyoukai was lost in their blue depths for a few seconds. Somehow they reminded him of the sea, as they changed color from a brilliant sapphire to a stormy grey within mere seconds. Peaceful, and yet dangerous. She was actually quite brave. '_Well,_' he amended to himself. '_For a human._'

However, this girl was right. No matter how hard it was for him to admit it, she had saved his life for no apparent reason and, although his pride was more than offended, he was honour-bound to her now. The Taiyoukai of the West owed his life to a human miko. He mentally groaned in frustration.

'_This is how the mighty fall, indeed.' _He replayed the dead youkai's words in his mind. Then he couldn't concentrate anymore and had to close his eyes involuntarily. He felt his head rolling back slowly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, are you alright?" The girl sounded so concerned again. Humans! In one moment she was yelling at him and calling him names and just a few seconds later she feared for his well-being. How was it possible for a creature to change feelings so quickly?

"Sesshoumaru?!" The girl's voice sounded almost panicked now. He felt her kneeling over him, touching his cheek with her warm, soft hand. How long had it been since he had allowed somebody touch him like this?

A lifetime.

Suddenly everything around him went black and he fell once more into unconsciousness.

Kagome stared at the demon lord's still form and listened to his regular breathing. He had obviously passed out again. Shaking her head, she ceased stroking his cheek and left him to sleep.

'_Geez, that was really scary.... and weird. But what did I expect from him? To actually thank me? No, I should be grateful if he doesn't kill me as soon as he can move again,_' she thought, shuddering slightly.

Moving to stand up, she noticed the medicine cup still standing on the ground near Sesshoumaru. Perhaps she should wait to give it to him until he was awake again. It would be easier that way. So she put it on a safe place next to the kettle to let it finish cooling down.

Sesshoumaru slept for several hours and in the meantime, Kagome was left to her own devices. First she made lunch for herself, consisting of an instant soup and some dried fruit she'd found in her backpack. To avoid dying of boredom she drowned herself in activity. She was sure if she stayed busy enough, she wouldn't worry about Inuyasha and her friends so much.

So she went to find some more herbs and brought them back to their camp. She made a greenish paste out of them, which should be applied on cuts and bruises to make them heal more rapidly. After finishing her work she put it aside and went to the stream with some soap and Sesshoumaru's dirty clothing. The least she could do was wash and try to mend at least his haori. The guy needed some decent clothing after all.

The task was quite demanding, as the dried blood somehow seemed to have merged with the silk. But after a good twenty minutes of scrubbing it was acceptably clean again. Proudly, Kagome returned to her patient, only to find that he was still unconscious.

'_Maybe I should be glad. He's a lot nicer this way.'_ she thought, regarding the dog demon's sleeping form. There was no way of denying it: He had looks to kill. He was well built, tall and had a very handsome face. Just...perfect. '_Well, at least as long as he's NOT awake...' _Kagome mused.

The only irritating thing about his appearance was his tail. Kagome had grown accustomed to Inuyasha's ears, but a tail? Oh hell, it was still cute, after all, and very fluffy. At the moment it was just lying limply by his side, sneaking out at some point from the sleeping bag. But Kagome had seen it twitch several times while Sesshoumaru was sleeping. The memory made her smile in amusement.

Sitting down next to the Taiyoukai, she took her sewing kit out of her backpack and started to mend one of many gashes in Sesshoumaru's haori. After having mended some of the torn garment, Kagome admired her work and grinned.

'_Looks more like patchwork now, my, won't he be delighted!'_ She thought, imagining the Taiyoukai's expression when she bestowed him with the mended piece of clothing.

At that moment the demon lord stirred. In an instant Kagome had dropped the haori and rushed to his side. She saw him crack one amber eye open, then the other.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked, trying to be friendly.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes in distrust. His body was in agony as never before, but why would this human care? He just could not comprehend why this human would want to help him. He continued eyeing her with distrust. "Why did you help me, human? And where is that idiot half-brother of mine?" he demanded.

Kagome rolled her eyes. '_This seems to really bother him...' _So she attempted, again, to explain her actions to him, somehow already knowing that it was beyond him to understand what it was that had motivated her.

"I helped you because I can't just let someone die when I have a choice in the matter. I don't care whether that person is a friend or a foe – life is still life." she said with conviction, searching his indifferent face for any reaction. Seeing none, she continued:

"As for Inuyasha, to be honest, I don't know where he is. My friends and I were separated during a battle with Naraku's creatures." Noticing the sad expression her face took, Sesshoumaru was again forced to the conclusion that her words were true.

"How long have I been here?" he asked quietly.

Kagome looked at him quizzically. What a question...

She shook her head. "I don't know, exactly. I found you yesterday. But judging from your fever, you'd probably been lying here for at least a day before I came along. Possibly even longer." she told him, surprised that he had actually managed to utter a civil sentence towards her.

"I have important matters to attend at my castle. I must leave now." the Taiyoukai stated and made to sit up. Gritting his teeth because of the pain his movements caused, he managed a sitting position, his face turning a curious shade of green.

Kagome was shocked. The fever seemed to be clouding his mind. How could he think about leaving in his current state? Judging from the look on his face, he was enduring immense pain.

"You can't leave, you're still too hurt! Your leg is broken, you've got a fever, and you're not exactly back to your normal chipper self, you know!" Kagome reasoned.

Sesshoumaru felt horrible, and somehow he knew that the girl was right. But he had to make it. Nobody knew where he was and probably his entire castle had fallen into chaos by now.

Gathering all his remaining strength and willpower he started to stand up, but as soon as he tried to put weight on his injured leg, he groaned in agony and fell back. Feeling his stomach clench with sickness he was barely able to suppress the urge to vomit.

Kagome couldn't understand why he was being so unreasonable. He had to see that he needed rest and care to regenerate properly, didn't he?

"Please, stay here and rest. You're in no condition to be moving around. I could stitch your wounds, so that they will heal more efficiently. Will you let me?"

Lowering his head, the demon lord nodded silently, struggling to get his rebelling stomach under control. Kagome released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Then she took the wet cloth which had fallen from his head during his attempts to get up and removed the thin layer of perspiration from his face carefully.

Amber eyes met her blue ones when he raised a silver brow at her odd behaviour. Kagome smiled at him almost apologetically and put the cloth aside. She extended a slightly shaking hand to feel his temperature and was surprised when his skin didn't feel hot anymore.

"Your fever is almost gone. Which means that the infection in your blood should be almost gone, too, and that your wounds are safe to be stitched." she informed him.

Again, he just nodded. Kagome grabbed some disinfecting alcohol and the med kit from her backpack. After settling down next to him again, she poured some of the alcohol into her bowl and placed it on the ground beside her.

Sesshoumaru seemed to watch her practised moves with interest. His intense, intelligent eyes never left her hands. She probably should be nervous, but having done the same thing for Inuyasha uncountable times before, this was just a routine job. After rolling up her sleeves she took a needle and thread from her sewing kit and put both into the alcohol bowl along with her hands for disinfection.

Then Kagome started to cautiously unwrap the demon's bandages. First, she removed the one that covered the two wounds on his abdomen. Throwing the bloodstained material to the ground, she was glad to find that the bleeding had lessened somewhat of its own accord. Kagome took a clean piece of cloth out of her medical kit and dipped it into the bowl.

"This will sting a bit," she told him apologetically before she started to clean the wounds.

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth when the damp cloth came in contact with the open wound, but made no other sound. Kagome only noticed the tip of his tail twitching in annoyance.

'_Well, he is braver than Inuyasha.'_ she thought with a smile as she remembered the hanyou's whining and complaints.

After having finished, she took the needle and thread in her hand. "Well, I'm really sorry, but this is going to more than just sting." she stated, looking up at him.

"Just finish it, human." he said, regarding her stoically.

So Kagome started to stitch the lower gash, holding the wound closed with her now blood-covered left hand. She was glad that she had finally developed the stomach to bear seeing quite a lot of blood without becoming sick.

When she pierced his skin the first time with the needle he just winced a little, although it had to really hurt, as Kagome well knew from experience. Maybe she could distract him...

"I've got a name, you know. There's no need to call me wench or human, it's kind of impolite." she declared boldly, hoping that he wasn't in the state to wrench her neck right now.

The demon lord arched an elegant eyebrow. "Speaking of politeness, you have not honoured me with your name yet, human."

Kagome blushed furiously and almost dropped the needle at his remark. He didn't know? Well, how could he? Usually he was far too busy dealing with Inuyasha during their meetings. And it was not like they had been introduced or something.

"My apologies. I...I - my name is Kagome," she managed to get out and reassumed her stitching, too embarrassed to say anything else.

"Very well, human," he replied, taking sadistic pleasure in her obvious discomfort.

Kagome glared at him. She was almost sure he said that just to spite her. But before she could think of an appropriate comeback, he interrupted her.

"Where is my sword?" he demanded.

"Over there, along with your other weapons." she answered coolly. Not bothering to interrupt her work, she indicated the direction with her head.

His eyes followed the direction and spotted Toukijin lying on the ground several feet away, along with Tenseiga and his other personal affects.

"Give it back to me," he ordered.

"I intend to...after I finish stitching your wounds." As he seemed to be satisfied with her answer, she started upon the second gash.

After completing the task, Kagome carefully bandaged the wounds again. Cutting the bandage with the sharp scissors from her med kit when she was done, she repeated the procedure on the wound on his upper arm.

When the last injury was bandaged, she cleaned her hands of his blood, fetched the greenish paste and sat down next to him again. Kagome dipped her finger into the unction and moved it towards his face to apply it to a cut on his cheek. But before she could reach him, he had quickly pulled his head away. Looking at him questioningly, she said "Don't worry, Sesshoumaru-sama, this won't hurt one bit."

Sesshoumaru was taken aback by her words. Obviously this girl thought that he was afraid of getting hurt by her. What a ludicrous assumption! Despite the fact that the human most likely couldn't even harm a fly, he didn't fear any pain. He just didn't like it to be touched in the slightest, especially not by a filthy human like her. Despising and therefore avoiding any bodily contact most of his life, it had been hard enough to endure her stitching his wounds and the other random touches to his skin the action had implied.

Just when he was about to tell her that he would not tolerate any more of this ridiculous attempts of hers to see to his well-being, he felt a cool substance making contact with his skin. His eyes widened a fraction in utter shock when he sensed her warm hand massaging the substance into his bruised skin. Involuntarily he closed his eyes, marvelling at the gentle touch. Despite the violent protests of his brain, it felt nice, the way the cool paste was soothing the irritation of his torn skin. Why he didn't do anything to stop her was beyond him, but he put it down to the lingering effects of the fever.

Sesshoumaru was almost disappointed when her hand left his face. Opening his eyes a fraction, he saw the girl flash him a brilliant smile before applying some more of the substance to his shoulder. Still, he was unable to prevent her from her actions as his eyes slid close again. Her warm and almost tender touches lulled him into unusual calm. He was not used to such kindness and it disturbed him. How could she act like this, living in this world, and still be alive, he wondered absentmindedly.

At some point he came back to his senses. Noticing that her hands had left his body he opened his eyes. Rage flowed through him at his inability to keep the control he had worked so hard to obtain. He felt like an idiot, losing his grip on reality so completely because of a human girl's touch. What the hell was wrong with him?

Kagome put her utensils away and cleaned the bowl, absolutely oblivious to the strange effect she was having on the Taiyoukai. Then she fetched Sesshoumaru's sword. Assuming that he wanted to have Toukijin, as Tenseiga would be no use in a fight, she carefully picked up the heavy demonic sword and placed it next to him.

"Why are you so trusting, wench?" He asked with mild interest, looking up to her, sure that the threat he was about to utter would shatter her kindness. "I could kill you this instant."

Kagome gulped and thought about it for a moment. "But you have no reason to. Killing me now would gain you nothing. But as long as I live, I'll care for your well-being," she reasoned, sounding quite calm.

To Sesshoumaru she was a riddle. Although her scent was mixed with fear and therefore betrayed her brave words, she still sounded so confident, not even offended by his statement. And he had to admit that she was right. Killing her now would gain him nothing. This girl appeared to be quite intelligent, for a human....

Kagome waited for his response nervously. But he just continued looking at her with his unreadable expression. Sighing when she realized that he obviously had no intentions of talking anymore, she walked over to her makeshift fireplace and lit the flame again. It was late in the afternoon now and almost time for dinner.

The demon lord watched the girl taking some strange-looking containers out of a disturbingly yellow bag. Opening them, she poured the contents of one container and some water into a small pot and put it on the fire.

Somehow she fascinated him. Although, he mused, she wasn't even very pretty. Well, the combination of blue eyes and black hair was interesting and rare, but he had seen many women, youkai and human alike, who were much more beautiful than this girl. Her body was far from being perfect. Though it was probably due to her youth, she was skinny at some places and her curves, which signified the beauty of a woman, were only partly visible.

Still, there was something about her, something that made her shine and glow. Sesshoumaru was unable to place it, but sometimes she seemed to be surrounded by light. And her scent was intriguing, almost pleasant. She smelled so much better than any other human he had met before.

The girl was a mystery. Why did she not fear him as much as everyone else? He remembered exactly when he had seen her for the first time. She had been in his father's tomb with Inuyasha, where she had actually pulled Tessaiga out of the stone and given it to the hanyou.

Thinking about it, she had never made the impression of being very frightened in battle with him. She had faced him several times, without even flinching, to save his worthless half-brother.

And now she had saved his life and tended to his injuries. But how would that fit? She obviously was his half-brother's friend, a human miko on top of that. They were supposed to be sworn enemies. But her behaviour had proven him wrong.

Looking at her again, he noticed that she had evidently prepared some food for him, too, as she filled two bowls with a curious looking substance and walked over to him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, please eat some of this." she said, holding one of the bowls and a pair of chopsticks out for him. Her kindness startled him yet again. It was unnerving and most annoying.

"I do not consume human food." he replied coldly, ignoring the bowl in her hand.

Kagome sighed. This was much harder than she had imagined.

"But you have to eat. Otherwise you won't regain your strength. Just try it, please? It really isn't that bad." The demon lord gave her one of his most icy glares and she couldn't help shivering. But to her surprise he took the chopsticks and the bowl from her and sniffed it sceptically.

When he couldn't detect any poison or other unhealthy substances, he started eating tentatively. It really wasn't that bad. The thing was almost tasty.

Kagome breathed in relief. Evidently he didn't despise human food as much as he despised humans in general. She started eating herself.

"What do you call this, human?"

His sudden question took her by surprise. But she replied immediately around a mouth full of noodles:

"Ramen."

Looking at her in distaste, he reassumed questioning her.

"How do you make it?"

Kagome was at a loss. How could she explain him all about instant food?

"Well, I don't exactly cook and prepare it like an ordinary meal. It's kind of already prepared. I just put it into some water and let it boil for a few minutes."

After thinking about her answer for a few seconds he asked, almost curiously, "Then who prepared it? You?"

Kagome gulped. Somehow she had the severe impression that the talk wouldn't go that well for her. How could she explain that she had bought her food at a supermarket 500 years in the future? She decided to simply answer his questions as truthfully as possible.

"No."

"Your family, then?"

"No."

"Well then, who?" He demanded impatiently.

"I don't know." Kagome replied uncertainly.

At that Sesshoumaru raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"What? You eat food when you do not know where it is from or who prepared it?"

The whole thing had no relevance for him, as he was able to smell whether it was edible or not, but this somehow interested him.

Thinking about it, Kagome came to the conclusion that somewhere he had a point. Why did she eat food about which she knew almost nothing? But in her time most people bought and ate instant food, so it couldn't be that bad. It also happened to be quite convenient.

Still, it remained difficult to communicate the whole thing to the waiting demon lord in front of her. Maybe she would have to bend the truth a little bit to satisfy his curiosity without giving away her secret.

"I bought it from people who are very reliable. I trust them to control the work of the cooks who prepare this ramen." she told him casually. It wasn't exactly a lie, just a formulation nobody in her time would use.

Sesshoumaru noticed something in her scent change for a moment, but when he inhaled again it was gone. Dismissing it, he contemplated her answer. It sounded quite unusual, but as the girl, considering her unfamiliar garments and equipment, apparently came from far away, it wasn't impossible. So he decided to drop the subject and continued eating.

Kagome was relieved when the demon lord reassumed eating. Dealing with him was quite exhausting. At least he was being civil most of the time now and she hadn't received any other death-threats yet.

When both of them had finished dinner, Kagome cleaned the bowls and dried them. Deciding that there was no need to make Sesshoumaru drink the remaining medicine, as his fever seemed to be gone, she poured it away and cleaned the cup, too.

The clearing was already darkening and Kagome took out a small oil lamp and lit it. Sitting down again with needle and thread, she seized Sesshoumaru's haori and continued mending it.

She knew that he was watching her without looking at him. Tentatively she gazed at him. The demon lord was still in a sitting position, leaning against the tree. His golden eyes seemed to glow in the twilight.

'_He is still intimidating, despite his condition.' _ Kagome thought. But in a weird way she was glad that he was with her, that at least she wasn't all alone. Then she noticed him moving and looked up. Somehow he managed to stand up, very shakily, but almost fell over again when he started to put weight on his injured leg. Moaning in pain he was able to latch onto the tree just in time.

Kagome jumped up in concern, ready to help him. He really was worse than Inuyasha. What the hell was he up to? He was definitely not fit for going anywhere. Looking up to him she pleaded "Sesshoumaru-sama, please lay back down. You are in no condition to be moving around."

Ignoring her completely Sesshoumaru took Toukijin from the ground next to him and used it as a makeshift crutch. Then he started limping in the direction of some bushes, his tail trailing limply behind him. His body shook violently from exertion and pain.

"Where are you going?"

Again Kagome received no answer. What did this crazy guy think he was doing?

Now he had almost reached the coppice and Kagome expected him to collapse where he was each moment. She had to stop him somehow or he would tear his stitches.

She jogged up to his side and started to walk besides him into the coppice.

"Sesshoumaru, listen to reason, you won't make it halfway to your castle or anywhere else in this state. You have to stay and wait till your injuries are healed. There is no way you will reach your castle alive, for crying out loud! And..."

"That is quite enough, human," he suddenly said and stopped in his movements, regarding her with a calm expression. "I understand that I am not able to return to my home at this time. But I would appreciate it if you granted me a moment of privacy now."

Kagome frowned at him quizzically. "What are you planning to do?" She asked, completely oblivious to his intentions. Sesshoumaru could barely refrain from rolling his eyes at the annoying human brat, feeling his patience growing very thin because of the throbbing ache in his leg and abdomen.

Suddenly realization dawned on her. '_He wants to...has to...oh shit, you are such an IDIOT Kagome!' _ She scolded herself mentally, while her face was turning a bright shade of red.

"Umm, ah, nevermind. I...I'll just...go sit back down, then....just call me if you need any help," she rambled and almost slapped herself after the last part of her sentence had left her mouth. Oh Kami, how could one person alone be so stupid?

"Oh, damn it, just forget I said anything." Kagome murmured and walked back to the camp quickly, not waiting for his reply. Just when she had thought that she couldn't embarrass herself any more, she had proven herself to be sadly mistaken. Why did such mortifying things always happen to her?

Slumping down on her sleeping bag, she just hoped that some giant hole would appear to swallow her before Sesshoumaru returned.

ooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo

Miroku watched the sun set from a small window of Kaede's hut. Worry clouded his handsome face. Kagome hadn't returned yet, and almost two days had passed since they had been separated. He prayed to all the gods he knew that his friend was alive and in good health

Slowly he turned from the window, watching Kaede treating Inuyasha's wounds with practised care. Next to the hanyou's still form lay Sango's battered body. Seeing her like that caused a twinge of pain inside of him.

The two of them had been badly injured during the fight with Naraku's creatures. Miroku, who had luckily gotten away with some minor scratches, had brought them back to the village with Kirara's help. Also suffering only from lighter injuries, the fire cat had been able to carry both of them on her back.

After leaving his friends to Kaede's care, the monk had intended to depart with Kirara to find Kagome, but the old miko wouldn't hear of it. She had told him that there was no way they would find any trace of her in the pouring rain and that he should wait for Inuyasha to recover enough to track down the girl's scent. More likely than not, Kaede had reasoned, Kagome would have returned by then.

But judging from the way Inuyasha was still unconscious, it would take another few days for him to heal completely. Shippo was currently sitting at the hanyou's side, talking to his unconscious friend gently, unknowingly worrying the sleeve of Inuyasha's red haori with his small fingers. It was quite an endearing picture. Despite their usual bickering, the kitsune cared very deeply for Inuyasha. Miroku knew that the small kit was very worried, not only for his injured friend but also for Kagome, who Shippo seemed to see as something like a surrogate mother.

The monk watched as Kaede got up, obviously having finished her task of changing her patient's bandages, and came towards him.

"How are they?" he asked the old miko, concern evident in his voice.

"Better, they are both much better today. Inuyasha will be recovered in a few days, but his demon blood is helping him. It'll take a bit longer for Sango, but she will be fine, too. Don't worry, child." she told him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

But how could he not worry? Although Inuyasha and Sango were getting better, Kagome was still somewhere out there all alone.

'_Kami,_' Miroku prayed '_please let her be alright._'

_(A/N):_

_Sorry that it took me so long to update, but I'm very busy with university stuff at the moment. So it might take some time until chapter 3 is online. But I'll write as fast as I can, promise ;-)._

_Thank you so much for the kind reviews. I'm very flattered and I had never expected that so many people would like my story._

_Special thanks go to my new beta-reader M'eyari for helping with my work and making it about ten times better and to my best friend Schnuffi for putting up with my constant rambling about characters and plotlines. _

_About some story-details:_

_I know that Kagome's eye-colour is brown in the anime and on most of the manga covers. But I want them to be blue as this makes her appearance more special and also more different from Kikyo._

_If you liked the chapter or have any questions, comments or suggestions for improvement, please sent a review or e- mail me._


	3. Lethal Weapons

_Disclaimer: Still not mine..._

_Please R&R!!! _

**Chapter 3: Lethal Weapons**

Kagome woke up feeling a bit chilled. It was early in the morning and the clearing was still covered in mist. The night had been relatively cool and the lazy autumn sun had yet to rise above the fog and clouds to warm the earth.

Yawning, Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. Stretching, she turned to look at Sesshoumaru, who had been sleeping near her. Kagome's gaze was met by two amber orbs, which were studying her intently.

The Western Lord sat on the sleeping bag, leaning against the tree trunk, obviously observing her. His injured leg was outstretched on the ground, while the other one was drawn up and his tail was curled around his shoulders.

_'He is simply breathtaking.'_ Kagome admitted in her mind, admiring him in all his otherworldly beauty for a moment. _'If it weren't for him being such a bastard at times, he would have to beat women off with a stick.'_

Shaking herself mentally, she managed to tear her gaze away from his intriguing golden eyes before she started losing herself in them.

"Good morning," she said, flashing him the brightest smile she could muster at such an ungodly hour. But Sesshoumaru just kept looking at her. It was quite unnerving.

_'Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's father evidently didn't give a damn about good manners. And neither did their mothers!'_ Kagome thought, irritated.

"Are you feeling better?" she inquired.

This time he generously deigned to speak.

"I believe so, but only slightly. This low healing rate must be due to the dragon youkai's poison." he informed her stoically.

"A dragon youkai? Is that what tore you up so badly?" She was still very curious about what had happened to the taiyoukai.

"Hai. Two dragon youkai, to be exact. They carried shards of the Shikon No Tama in their bodies."

Kagome nodded. "I know, I found them," she told him, indicating the incomplete jewel on her necklace. Actually, it was only a very little part of it, as Kikyo had stolen all of her shards some time ago only to hand them over to Naraku. The memory made her burn with anger. They had spent an eternity collecting the few pieces she was now wearing on her necklace.

One of Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "You took them, girl? I thought they would belong to me now, as I killed what had possessed them."

Lowering her gaze, she contemplated his words. He had a point, they were rightfully his possessions and she had just taken them. '_This is almost like stealing!_' she thought in horror, shocked by her own actions.

"I'm sorry - I should have asked you first." Kagome said in a small voice. "But you have no use for the shards anyway, do you?"

Shame was radiating of her and it surprised him. Why would the girl be ashamed? He himself would have done exactly the same thing in her situation. This ningen never ceased to amaze him.

"Your assumption is correct, miko. I have no use for the shards. I will allow you to keep them - as a compensation for your services," he announced stiffly.

Kagome looked at him quizzically. Had he just been nice in a weird way? No, most likely not, but still...

"Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama," she replied, a little confused, still searching his face for any signs of mental illness. Sesshoumaru just inclined his head, not bothering to say anything else.

Kagome climbed out of her sleeping bag and put her shoes on. Then she went over to her backpack and fished out some chocolate cookies, which would serve for her breakfast. After ripping open the package, she took a cookie and started eating hungrily. Being halfway done with it, she looked at Sesshoumaru, having completely forgotten about him for the moment.

"Are you hungry, too?" She asked him shyly, a little embarrassed by the fact that she hadn't thought of him first.

Regarding sceptically first the cookie and then the girl who was in the process of devouring it, he shook his head. "No. I do not need to consume food as often as a mere ningen has to," the demon lord told her callously.

Kagome just shrugged and continued eating greedily. As usual in the morning, she was starving. Anyhow, she really couldn't imagine Sesshoumaru liking sweets.

After having devoured about half of the cookies, she put the rest back into her pack. Then she took out her hair brush and started untangling her mane. As she had forgotten to brush it yesterday, it was quite a piece of work to get the knots out of it.

When she had finally succeeded in taming her stubborn hair, she eyed Sesshoumaru closely. He really looked like he was in need of a good brushing, too. His usually smooth, almost knee-length silver hair, was falling down his back in disarray, still partly stained with blood. As he wouldn't be able to take a bath and wash it because of his wounds in the near future, combing it out would have to do.

Getting up, she started to walk towards him, still armed with her brush. For a fleeting moment, the look in his eyes reminded her of Buyo when the cat realized that he was about to have a bath. But before she could make it out clearly, the look was gone.

Kagome kneeled down next to him, but before she could have addressed him in any way, he had turned towards her, extending his uninjured, left arm.

"Give it to me," he ordered, intending not to leave any room for discussion.

"No, if I give you the brush you'll probably tear the stitches on your shoulder. So I'll brush your hair for you," she stated, ignoring the glare it earned her.

The girl was not only silly, but insolent as well, Sesshoumaru noticed. How dare she contradict his orders? Under any other circumstances he would have taken immense pleasure in tearing her instantly into pieces. But again, he was forced to admit that she had a point. The Lord of the Western Lands was many things, but 'unreasonable' and 'stupid' were not on his list of traits. So he swallowed his hurt pride once again, and turned his back towards her so she could reach his hair.

Kagome released the breath she had been holding, feeling enormous relief because of his unexpected surrender. Upon further thought, she came to the conclusion that Inuyasha would never have let something like a brush near him.

Anyway, why was it that she always got herself into lethal danger because of such stupid things? Why did she care about the state of his hair anyway? There was nothing life-threatening about tangled hair, for crying out loud! And why was it that she obviously couldn't resist talking back to him? It had to be his arrogant demeanour, which challenged her enormously.

Sighing softly, she started to brush his hair carefully so not to pull out some of it, allowing her fingers to follow the brush through the silken strands. Marvelling at the very soft and smooth texture, Kagome got completely lost in her task.

_'He really has nice hair. Most of the girls I know would be green with envy.'_

Sesshoumaru felt a shiver running down his spine. What was this human doing to him? Why did it feel so good when she ran her deft fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp so gently? His eyes slid shut while all of his being concentrated on the sensations her touches caused. In one way it was very calming, but in another way it made every nerve ending in his body bristle with electricity. Never had he felt this kind of pleasure before. His tensed muscular frame started to relax completely under her touch.

_'This is dangerous and highly addictive'_, his mind told him, but at that moment, he couldn't care less.

It was a completely unfamiliar thing for the demon lord to be touched with such gentleness and in such an intimate way. Leaving him bereft of his usual tight control, her touches lulled him into a haze and made him crave more.

Absentmindedly he noticed that he was surrounded by her intriguing scent. Inhaling deeply, he smelled sunlight on a meadow full of flowers. With his eyes closed he could imagine such a place, and it was beautiful. He observed idly that the tones of roses and jasmine were the most prevalent in the garden of Kagome's scent.

When her warm fingers accidentally brushed against Sesshoumaru's pointed ear, he was barely able to suppress the groan that threatened to escape his throat. Heat shot through his body and he grasped her wrist unconsciously to keep her hand in place. The girl's skin felt warm and soft under his cool fingers.

Her surprised gasp brought the demon back to reality. Turning around he noticed that he was still holding her wrist and she looked at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Slowly Kagome's breathing started to return to normal. Sesshoumaru had scared the wits out of her when he had grabbed her wrist without any warning. For a short moment she was sure she would suffer the most painful death at his hands, but when she looked in his face, he didn't seem to be angry. His features were unreadable as ever, but his amber eyes stared at her in outright wonder.

Looking down at her wrist Kagome noticed that he still held it rather gently in his clawed hand. To her surprise his touch didn't feel unpleasant at all. She really didn't understand why, but she noticed herself blushing slightly because of the contact. What was it about him?

"I think that will do, girl." Sesshoumaru told her indifferently when he had recovered enough to speak and released her wrist abruptly.

Kagome looked at him absolutely confused. This guy was really weird and dealing with him meant going through the most extreme emotional changes in just a few seconds: From contentment to mortal fear to embarrassment and then back to normal.

The strange expression in his eyes had vanished completely and now they appeared as cold and as unfeeling as ever. Shaking her head, Kagome got up and tucked the brush back into her pack. Picking up her med kit she returned to Sesshoumaru's side and knelt down again. Opening the plastic box, she said, "I have to change your bandages and make sure your wounds are clean."

Sesshoumaru nodded without looking at her.

Searching for some fresh water, Kagome noticed that she hadn't any left and decided to get some before she tended to the demon's injuries.

"Sorry, I'll have to go to the river first and fetch some fresh water. There isn't any left." Kagome told him, indicating towards the empty bowl.

The taiyoukai inclined his head slightly, indicating that he had understood, and continued to stare off into another direction. Sighing again at his strangeness, she pulled her wash bag, a towel and fresh clothing out of her yellow pack. She could also change and clean herself if she had to go to the river anyway. Getting up again, she took the bowl and started to walk into the direction of the small stream.

Sesshoumaru watched her leave the clearing. What was it with her? The demon lord had no idea why this low ningen girl had such an odd effect on him. She made him confused and he hated every bit of it. Having never been confused or uncertain about anything in his life, the state he found himself in now was indeed quite unnerving. Still, these alien sensations made him curious and he wondered idly what they were all about.

After some time had passed, he noticed that the girl had forgotten to take her bow and arrows with her. Humans! How dense could someone be to wander off into the forest without armament?

The demon lord was brought out of his reverie when his sensitive nose picked up a very unpleasant smell. Although he was certain that he had smelled it before, he wasn't quite able to place it. The scent belonged to a youkai, that was unquestionable, but who was it and what were his intentions?

Sniffing again, he realized that the demon was coming towards him at a very fast rate. Before Sesshoumaru could further examine the scent he could hear the demon already approaching through the forest in front of him.

A male neko youkai with ink-black hair burst from the trees. His face was covered with ugly scars from innumerable battles and he was clad in torn and dirty brownish-green attire. After flickering briefly over the clearing, his sharp, shockingly green, eyes focused on Sesshoumaru.

"So my old nose hasn't failed me. I thought I picked up your scent, Sesshoumaru. Well, to be more precise, the scent of your blood. And again, I think I was right."

The neko's neutral expression changed into a sly smirk. "The mighty Taiyoukai of the West is badly injured and completely alone in the middle of a forest. What a lucky day for me," the demon purred.

Sesshoumaru snorted. He had recognized the demon immediately upon sight. The cat youkai had belonged to a group of bandits that had consisted of demons and humans. When they had trespassed upon the Western Lands and burned down one of his villages, Sesshoumaru had slain most of them. Presumably, this demon had come to seek revenge for his companions.

Thinking quickly, the taiyoukai assessed his situation. Again he cursed his weakened state, as it prevented him from fighting properly. To make matters worse, Tokijin, half-covered by the sleeping bag, was the only weapon he could reach, and it was lying on his left side. He would not only have to move quite a bit just to grasp it, he would have to distract the cat youkai long enough to grab it and keep the cat from knowing that he was armed.

"What is it that you want from me?" Sesshoumaru asked coolly, his arrogant and detached demeanour never wavering as he began moving very slowly towards his sword.

A frown appeared on the cat youkai's face and he started to approach the demon lord. "Is it possible that you don't remember me, Sesshoumaru? I, Ichiro, have come to avenge my brother, who died at your hands last spring!" he said in a threatening voice.

The Western Lord fixed him with one of his most icy glares, which stopped Ichiro's movements effectively.

"First, you _will_ address me correctly, or suffer the consequences. Second, this Sesshoumaru has _never_ forgotten a fight. Even though your brother was hardly worth my time," he spat, casually inching more towards his weapon.

Ichiro gasped in obvious outrage. He couldn't decide what angered him more - that the taiyoukai had the nerve to insist on his title in this situation or that he had just insulted the formidable fighting skills of his younger brother.

"You bastard! I will make you pay. You will regret the day you laid your hands on my companions!" With these words Ichiro menacingly drew his sword and resumed walking towards the demon lord.

All it earned him was a low snarl from Sesshoumaru. "You lowly vermin! You dare to threaten this Sesshoumaru?" The taiyoukai demanded sharply.

Ichiro was fuming with anger now and didn't pay any attention to Sesshoumaru's subtle but steady movements towards the sword. Suddenly, the demon lord stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed the air intently. He could smell the girl and she was returning to the clearing quite fast.

Kagome had just washed herself and changed into another pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt, when she noticed the presence of another youkai in the direction of their clearing. Dropping the bowl she was about to fill in horror, she started to run back as fast as she could. Her concern for Sesshoumaru gave her more speed than she had known she possessed.

Mid-way she realized that she had forgotten her bow and arrows at the camp. _'Damn it! Why can't I think just _one_ time before I do something?!'_ she scolded herself mentally. _'I hope I'm not too late - Sesshoumaru won't be able to fight in his state!'_

Picking up her pace again, she ignored the branches slapping her face and tearing at her skin. When she reached the clearing, she stopped dead, hiding behind some trees. She saw a quite evil looking neko-youkai, who was stalking towards Sesshoumaru with his sword drawn.

_'Oh shit! What do I do now?'_ she thought desperately. The bow wasn't an option, as it lay on the right side of the clearing next to her pack and she would have to cross Sesshoumaru and his attacker, who was obviously too busy focusing on the demon lord to notice her, to reach it. Then she saw the sword that lay on the demon lord's left side, only a few yards away from her. It would have to do.

Sesshoumaru said something to the approaching youkai, which seemed to enrage him even more. As Kagome was too occupied forming her plan she didn't quite make out the words. Absentmindedly she noticed Sesshoumaru raising his left hand and gesturing for her to run away. But for Kagome there was no way she could leave him to a certain death, even if it meant mortal danger for herself.

Sesshoumaru was furious. '_Why won't this human obey my orders just once? Why won't she just run?_' There was no way she could reach her own weapon and he wasn't able, at the moment, to defend them both. He just hoped that Ichiro wouldn't notice her before he had his sword. His left hand was now only inches away from the handle. Just a little closer...

"Enough talk, Western Lord! I will kill you now!" Ichiro roared furiously and raised his sword, ready to charge at Sesshoumaru.

Just when the demon lord was about to grasp Toukijin, he sensed the girl leave her hiding place in the trees and sprint into the clearing. Before he could reach for the sword, she had snatched it away from him, unsheathed it and planted herself between him and the approaching demon - Tokijin raised for battle.

"Over my dead body." Kagome said calmly, ignoring Sesshoumaru's growl of outrage behind her. Her heart was beating madly and her hands shook slightly, but otherwise she was able to maintain a determined posture despite her fear.

Ichiro gapped at her in surprise for a moment. Than he threw his ugly head back and started to laugh insanely. "The great Taiyoukai of the West, hiding behind a human girl? This is hilarious!" he managed to get out between chuckles.

Growling again, Sesshoumaru resisted the acute urge to bang his head against the tree trunk. Stupid, stupid ningen! She was brave, well yes, maybe, but she was so dumb! He would now have to make sure that the cat demon didn't live long enough to spread the tale of this humiliating scene. But how could this girl come to the conclusion that he was not only unable to fend for himself, but that he would need the help of a weak human girl? A weak human girl, who, incidentally, was being more of a hindrance by snatching away his only chance of ending this whole thing quickly. But matters could get even worse: The demonic sword would most likely try to possess her...Sesshoumaru was brought out of his ponderings by Ichiro's cry of outrage.

Blood flowed from the youkai's face and stained his garments. Kagome looked at him in disbelief. She had just gotten so angry when he hadn't taken her seriously that she had sliced him on his cheek. The deep gash was bleeding heavily. Wiping the blood away from his face with his sleeve, Ichiro raised his sword once more.

"Very well, my dear girl. Your death can be arranged!" he growled threateningly.

Kagome gulped. She just now realized that she had no idea what to do with the sword, as she had never really fought with one before. Moving out of reflex she brought up Toukijin to block the demon's first blow and stumbled backwards with the force of it. She almost fell to the ground but managed to block the second strike with her blade. Dodging Ichiro's next attack she moved to the side, further away from the place where Sesshoumaru still sat on the ground.

But there was no way to escape the enraged and skilled youkai. Following her, Ichiro landed a few quick blows, which she blocked miraculously, and forced her to retreat farther. Then he got her by surprise and landed a very hard blow on her blade, which made her lose the sword. It flew through the air and fell to the ground some yards away.

Sesshoumaru cursed under his breath violently. It was impossible for him to reach the sword and he couldn't use his light-whip either as Ichiro was located too far away. He doubted that his magic would work well in his injured state anyway. Frantically, he looked around him for anything he could use as a weapon, and his eyes fell on something silver in the strange box which rested next to him on the ground.

Kagome started to back off slowly. Adrenaline was rushing through her and her hands were now shaking badly. Ichiro followed her steadily, obviously taking devilish delight in her fear.

"Now little girl, shall we end this? But maybe if you beg me nicely for mercy, I might not kill you immediately. I'd like to have such a beautiful little slave..." The demon drawled, leaving no doubt about his intentions.

In spite of her fright, Kagome's spirits flared. "I'd rather be dead, youkai!" she exclaimed aggressively, moving further away from him. Then she stumbled over a root, which came off the ground behind her, and fell on her rear, her back facing Sesshoumaru. Ichiro towered over her, eyes clouded with bloodlust, sword ready to kill.

_'Oh Kami, I don't want to die. Inuyasha, wherever you are, please HELP ME!!'_ Kagome pleaded in her thoughts desperately. But nothing happened. She closed her eyes when the demon lifted his sword over his head to slam it down into her, awaiting the final blow.....but it never came. Instead she heard a loud thud and opened an eye tentatively.

Ichiro had fallen to the ground next to her without making a sound, dead. Looking at his lifeless body in utter shock, she noticed that her scissors were buried up to the hilt in his chest where his heart was supposed to be. Dark, crimson blood flowed from the wound freely, soaking his haori slowly, before the demon's body started turning into dust.

Still shaking badly, Kagome turned to look at Sesshoumaru. He stood upright, leaning on the tree with one hand for support and panting from exertion and pain. Slowly she realized that the demon lord had just saved her life. A wave of relief washed over her. He had killed the other youkai with nothing but a pair of scissors!

'_Well_,' she reasoned, '_probably nearly everything turns into a lethal weapon once it's in Sesshoumaru's hands.'_

Kagome got up, careful to stay upright while her legs kept shaking, and walked back to the demon lord. Giving him an honestly grateful smile, she said "Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama. You just saved my life."

When he didn't reply immediately, she took a closer look at his face. What she saw there made her wish that one of the cat demon's blows had actually hit her. Sesshoumaru's eyes were blazing with cold fury and if looks could kill she would have dropped dead immediately. Hastily, she took a step backwards.

"Why did you not obey my orders, wench?" He demanded with deadly calm.

Kagome was confused, she didn't know what he was going on about and he was really scaring the hell out of her now.

"What do you me..uck!" Before she had ended her question, she found herself pinned against the tree trunk, his hand at her throat. His claws were digging into her flesh angrily and it was near impossible for her to breath. Sesshoumaru's face was mere inches away from her own and she could feel the rage radiating off him. This was _much_ more terrifying than anything she had experienced a few moments ago with the other youkai.

"Do not dare to play dumb with me, wench! I ordered you to go away and you did not obey. Instead, you took away my sword and made a most ridiculous attempt to battle my opponent."

"I just wanted to help you," Kagome managed to croak out.

"And what, pray tell, makes you think that this Sesshoumaru might need the help of a lowly ningen?" the demon lord hissed, his fangs baring slightly.

Kagome shivered at the coldness of his voice. Although he never raised it over a normal level, his tone was more threatening than anything she had ever encountered before.

"I...I...don't know. I just thought you were ... injured and...and wouldn't be able to defend yourself," she stammered, but regretted her words immediately when his grip around her neck tightened painfully. Cold, amber eyes glared at her menacingly.

"Wench, as you might have noticed, this Sesshoumaru is very much able to fend for himself!" The taiyoukai snarled.

"I will not tolerate any more of your pathetic attempts to offer your so-called 'help'. If you value your worthless life you will, from now on, obey my every word. And be assured that I am only refraining from killing you here and now because I am honour-bound to you," he stated icily once he had gotten his murderous temper back under control and released her from his iron grip.

Stumbling forward, she managed to catch herself before falling to the ground again. When she turned back around, she noticed that the demon lord had seated himself again, exertion now clearly visible in his features.

_'I really shouldn't care! He is such an ungrateful jerk. Yet another death threat from him - or did that count for two?' _she thought, when the adrenaline started to leave her body slowly.

She was very frightened and very pissed off at the same time. But Kagome, being Kagome, couldn't keep her temper in check even if her life depended on it. Taking a few steps back into Sesshoumaru's direction, she pointed an accusing finger at him.

"YOU... you... you...- I can't even think of a word for what you are! Why do you have to behave like an utter jerk!? Why can't you have the decency to be just a little grateful at times?! Does it give you some kind of sick pleasure to scare me to death?!" she snapped at him irritably.

After looking at the stoic taiyoukai once more she added "Oh, just forget it!" and stomped off furiously towards the river to retrieve her bowl and bathing supplies, which she had abandoned in her earlier haste to get back.

She left a baffled demon lord at the clearing. Really, although she was doubtlessly the most impertinent creature he had ever met, she seemed to be braver than he had first given her credit for. Nobody had ever defied him in the way that she did and he was starting to find it not only annoying but also quite interesting. His more primal youkai instincts commanded him to break her, make her crawl before him in the dirt and bathe luxuriously in her blood. His sharp mind, however, kept tight control over his baser instincts and formed other plans.

The girl somehow managed to amuse him and challenge him at the same time. He had never been able to resist a challenge, and he was more than ready to meet the challenges that she offered. The demon lord was quite curious about the odd little miko and he would take this as an opportunity to find out more about her.

oooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo

_(A/N): _

_Again thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I could get addicted to those ;-)!!!_


	4. Dreams

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha..._

_A/N: Hi! Yes, I'm still alive, but I've been quite busy for while and couldn't continue the story. Sorry for not updating sooner. Anyway, I hope you'll like my next chapter._

_Please RR!_

**Chapter 4: Dreams**

Kagome knelt down at the stream and cleaned her bowl. After washing and redressing herself, she refilled it with fresh water and started her way back to the clearing. Two days had passed since the sword-incident, as she liked to call it, and luckily the demon lord had in the end refrained from killing her. There hadn't been any other problems with stray youkai and Sesshoumaru's condition was improving rapidly. The broken bones were already mended and Kagome was sure that she could remove the stitches today.

There still hadn't been any signs of Inuyasha and her friends up to now and Kagome was despairing slowly. Although she came up with every possible explanation why they had been delayed, the feeling of dread and worry just wouldn't vanish. What would she do, if Inuyasha was dead? How could she go on living? _'Oh Kami, please let him be alright_,' she pleaded in her thoughts.

When she arrived at the camp, Sesshoumaru was sitting on the ground, leaning against the tree trunk as usual. Putting her bathing supplies and dirty clothes near her backpack, she knelt down next to him and gave him a weak smile. He just looked at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly. During the last two days she had somewhat gotten used to his ways, and he wasn't as scary as he had been in the beginning.

"I have to take a look at your injuries, my lord. I can probably remove the stitches today." she said politely.

Inclining his head slightly, he started to remove his haori. Kagome was still very proud of her work – all things considered, the mended garment looked quite acceptable. Although Sesshoumaru had given her one of his "I'd rather die" looks when she had bestowed him with the repaired piece of clothing, he had eventually accepted it.

Carefully, she unwound the bandage from around his stomach. The two gashes had healed very nicely, and all what remained were two thin, slowly fading scars. Kagome cut the threads and removed them with her tweezers. Tossing the bandages aside, she began to unwind the one on his upper arm. The injury was healed as well as the ones on his stomach and she was able to remove the thread there, as well.

"Well, all of your injuries are healed properly. I think you're well again" she told him when she had finished, smiling slightly.

"I think so, too, miko." he said, while rearranging his clothing.

The demon lord referred to her as "miko" most of the time now and only called her "wench" or "human" when she had angered him somewhat. Although it was unimportant, Kagome took it as a kind of improvement in their relationship.

She started to collect the abandoned bandages and threw them into the fire. Then she took her other items and stuffed them into her pack. Sitting down, she stared into the fire.

What would happen now? Sesshoumaru was completely healed again and he could leave any moment. _'What will I do when he leaves? I will never find back the way to the well or Kaede's village on my own_,' she mused.

"What will you do now, miko" Sesshoumaru asked on cue, as if reading her thoughts. _'Well, he is still creepy at times,_' she thought.

Kagome shrugged. "I'll try to find Inuyasha and my friends" she replied a bit uncertainly.

Giving her one of his unreadable looks he continued"Why are you travelling with my worthless half-brother"

'Because I love him and...'

She paused shortly before saying"And, because I broke the Shikon No Tama. It is my duty to bring its shards back together and make sure that Naraku doesn't gain its powers."

The demon lord gazed at her quizzically for a moment. He knew by her scent that she had not spoken the full truth. But what else could be there?

"What do you want with the jewel of power" He demanded smoothly.

This time Kagome didn't have to think about her answer.

"To rid the world of its presence."

He arched an elegant eyebrow at her. Although he was sure her words were true this time, they were hard to believe.

"You do not crave for the immense powers of the Shikon, miko? Its strength is legendary."

Shrugging, she said "You don't want it either, do you"

Sesshoumaru smirked at her arrogantly. "I have no use for it. My own powers are more than adequate, miko. The jewel is for the weak and as you are weak, you should keep it…if you ever get your hands on it."

She glared at him for a moment. How dare he call her weak? Well, maybe he had a certain point, but still...

"I would rather be weak and still be _me_, my lord. The curse of the Shikon is to turn anyone who wants to use its powers selfishly into an evil, mindless creature. I don't want to be like that. Power without compassion and love isn't worth anything" she stated with conviction.

Sesshoumaru continued to just stare at her for a few minutes. His amber eyes were boring into her blue ones, trying to make sense of her strange words. Kagome looked back at him almost comfortably. She had gotten used to him staring at her like this, as if he wanted to see right into her soul.

"There is no such thing as love, miko; it is but a ludicrous illusion humans came up with to make the world more bearable to them. Love is not real, but power…power is." he told her calmly, the detached indifference of his voice making his words sound even more cruel and all Kagome could do was gape at him in shock.

Sesshoumaru got up in a fluid, graceful movement and tied his swords to his side.

"I am going to hunt. I shall be back shortly" he informed her stoically and walked into the woods without waiting for her reply, leaving a baffled Kagome behind.

Kagome shook her head. She had already experienced that his talkative moods vanished as abruptly as they came, but what he had said bothered her.

'_He can't mean that, can he? But maybe this is what things are like for him._' she mused idly. What would her life be without love? She lay down on her sleeping bag and stared at the brilliant blue sky. The clouds were moving lazily, as there was almost no breeze. Musing over her current situation and her life in general, her eyes eventually drifted shut.

She woke because something sharp and cold was nudging her throat. By now it was late in the afternoon and the sun was already sitting quite low. Sleepily, Kagome blinked and looked down at her throat. When she saw the tip of a large sword pressed against her delicate skin she shrieked and sat up with admirable speed. Breathing heavily, she looked up at her attacker and saw Sesshoumaru looming over her, smirking wickedly.

"You jerk! What did you do that for? You scared me half to death" she yelled, glaring daggers at him.

Sheathing his sword he turned away without giving her a second glance. "You are lucky that it was me, miko, otherwise you would be dead by now" he said nonchalantly.

Kagome was furious. Although he was right that she shouldn't have fallen asleep unprotected in the middle of a forest, it wasn't a reason enough to scare her like that.

He inwardly smirked at her anger. It was so easy to provoke her that it was almost boring. Almost.

He liked the way that she defied him at times, although he would rather die than admit it. It had been ages since anybody had affronted him openly and it was quite amusing…for the time being. After the few days he had had to spend with her, he had found out that the girl wasn't as idiotic as most humans were. In the contrary, she was fairly intelligent, although very clumsy at times. Her every emotion played on her youthful features constantly. The girl changed feelings so very quickly that he sometimes almost got dizzy from her ever-changing scent.

"Where have you been so long anyway" Her voice brought him out of his reverie. Obviously she was still fuming with anger but was trying to suppress it for her own good.

"I hunted and had a bath" he replied plainly"it took some time."

"I see" she murmured and blushed as a very detailed picture of the bathing demon lord popped up in her mind. Quickly she turned and started to dig through her pack to cover her blush. _'How can you think such things about him!_' she scolded herself mentally before she pulled out some instant ramen. It was time for dinner anyway.

Sesshoumaru had seated himself in front of his tree and watched her preparing her dinner. At times he still wondered about her strange equipment. The strange colors and forms of her clothes and containers, her curious food…it was almost like she came from another world. Yesterday he had watched her reading a book and he had never seen such flawless paper, nor had he ever seen such accurate writing before. Although the most surprising fact had been that she was able to read at all. Few demons were educated in the art of writing and reading, but the literate human was an even rarer creature. As far as he knew only humans of noble heritage were taught at all, but he was almost positive that she wasn't of noble blood. Would this miko never cease to amaze him?

Kagome started to eat her dinner greedily. She hadn't eaten all day and was practically starving. She knew that he was staring at her, but she didn't mind too much. Although she was still a bit angry at him, she dreaded the moment he would leave her. In an odd way he was all she had at the moment. But it was a miracle that he hadn't left as soon as she had removed the stitches and she wondered what in the world was keeping him here. Maybe she could talk him into bringing her back to the well tomorrow? From there she could go to Kaede's village and the old miko would most likely know about the whereabouts of her friends.

_OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo_

_Kagome nocked an arrow onto her bowstring and shot it towards one of the many demons that were attacking them. Naraku's forces seemed to have doubled since he was in the possession of the nearly completed Shikon no Tama. There were simply too many demons to fight. Hastily she fumbled for her next arrow and took aim, but before she could let it fly, one of the demons appeared out of nowhere directly in front of her and started to attack. Kagome shrieked when she hardly managed to dodge the first blow and stumbled backwards clumsily. In a blur of red and white, Inuyasha was by her side, charging at the demon, Tessaiga ready for battle._

_"Kagome, listen to me, you gotta run away. This is far too dangerous for you" he yelled while fiercely battling the demon._

_She gazed at him desperately. "I would never leave you" she shouted back. Looking around her, she saw Sango and Miroku engaged in battle. Kirara and Shippo were nowhere in sight._

_"Dammit, wench, I can't fight when I have to worry about you! Run, as fast as you can! I'll find you later, just go" He shouted while cutting the demon's head clear of his torso with a single swipe of his massive blade._

_Kagome had no idea why, but she obeyed him. Shooting one last arrow she turned and ran towards the forest. Just when she had reached the first tree, she heard a scream that made the hairs on her neck raise. She turned around and saw in utter horror how a huge demon held Inuyasha's lifeless body by his throat with its ugly, clawed hand. Blood was flowing freely from the hanyou's mouth, his eyes were wide from shock and his face was contorted in pain._

_Kagome was too horrified to move or do anything else. So she just stood there and watched helplessly as the demon used the claws of its free hand to tear open Inuyasha's ribcage. Blood splashed out in all directions and Kagome screamed in pure terror. She screamed and screamed and just couldn't stop it, when her world narrowed to the pain and the horror she was experiencing, while she looked transfixed at the terrible scene before her._

_Kagome was still screaming when she saw the beast rip out Inuyasha's pulsating heart and squeeze it hard with a triumphant howl. _

_"INUYASHA! Noooooo"_

Kagome woke with a start, sitting upright immediately, still screaming. Her eyes were wide with panic and her heart was drumming against her chest. Looking around her frantically, she tried desperately to determine where she was. She was shaking all over and her body was convulsing slightly. Absentmindedly she felt somebody shake her shoulders and then she heard a familiar voice talking to her.

"Girl, listen to me. It was but a dream. Calm down, before you hurt yourself" it said with stoic calm.

Slowly she started to return to reality and stopped her screaming and thrashing. Breathing heavily she looked into the amber eyes of Inuyasha. No, not Inuyasha's, he was dead, gone forever and it was all her fault. The pain was too much to bear and it threatened to rip her soul apart.

Without thinking she launched herself at Sesshoumaru, who was kneeling in front of her. Kagome threw her arms around his neck and started to sob desperately into his mended haori.

The demon lord looked down at her raven head in shock. Was she embracing HIM? Then he remembered that Rin did the exactly same thing when she woke from a nightmare. Obviously humans tended to draw comfort from every possible source, no matter how unlikely it was, seeking security and protection.

The miko must have dreamed about horrible things considering the way she had screamed in pure terror and her scent told him that she was frightened and sad. But this was actually something he could handle, after more than one year of regular practice with Rin.

Acting out of instinct and routine, Sesshoumaru put his arms around her trembling form and started to rub small circles on her back. Her light body felt soft and fragile against him.

Absentmindedly he wondered why he was doing this, but didn't pursue the thought any further. He noticed that her tears were slowly soaking his garment and she was still shaking badly with the force of her crying.

Although he knew it was inappropriate, he couldn't suppress how good it made him feel to hold her like that, to feel her soft body pressing against his own. It was the same strange sensation he had felt when she had touched him earlier. Although the fact that a mere ningen girl could make him feel that way was quite odd, he simply couldn't help it. Warmth was spreading through his body and he felt tiny tingles at the places she touched him. For a moment he was completely lost in the pleasant feeling and he closed his eyes, resting his head on hers.

Tightening his hold on the girl, he pulled her closer and started to stroke her hair with his other hand. It felt astonishingly silky and soft against his fingers and cheek. Sesshoumaru had wanted to know what it felt like for some time, but had never had an opportunity to touch it before. When he inhaled her scent deeply, he noticed that it was still tainted with fear and sadness and the salt of her tears. He wanted her to smell as pleasant as she usually did; she definitely had to stop the crying.

"Why are you still crying" He inquired quietly.

"He's dead...be...because I...I...didn't help him" the girl whimpered between sobs.

"Who is dead" Sesshoumaru asked, raising a perfect eyebrow slightly.

"I...Inuyasha...he was killed by one of Naraku's creatures." she sobbed brokenly.

Sesshoumaru signed inaudibly. "He is _not_ dead, miko. It was just a dream." the demon lord lectured her in his calm, collected voice.

Slowly, she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him desperately, feeling completely lost and weak. Kagome's eyes were red from crying and the tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

"How can you know that" She asked him disbelievingly. Her voice was faint, almost inaudible, but with his heightened senses it was no problem to hear her words clearly.

"I would know, if he was dead. Inuyasha _is_ my half-brother." he stated indifferently, acting as if this would explain everything.

Kagome continued looking at him for a while, searching his face and eyes for any signs of a lie. But then it occurred to her that Sesshoumaru would _never_ lie about something so trivial, so unimportant, to him.

Such behaviour was beneath him.

Completely exhausted, she let her head slump back on his shoulder. Kagome just didn't think about moving away from him. It felt far too good to stay like this.

After a while she noticed that Sesshoumaru was playing with her hair and stroking her back almost tenderly. Despite herself, she found that his touch didn't feel as unpleasant as she had thought it would. Actually, it didn't feel unpleasant at all, more the contrary. Warmth spread slowly throughout her body and she started to relax into him completely. Leaning her whole weight on him, she clumsily untangled her legs from the sleeping bag. She could feel him shift position to accommodate her better and she instinctively nuzzled closer to him.

It felt wonderful to be like that. Her mind was blank now, the crying had subsided and she was just enjoying the feelings of comfort and safety. Kagome could hear the demon's heart beating steadily and the heat radiating off his body, even through all the layers of his clothing, was pleasantly warming. Suddenly she wanted to touch him, too. Carefully, she raised one hand to his neck and moved her fingertips gently over his surprisingly soft skin.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and suddenly her hand was covered by his. Then it hit her. _'Kami, what am I doing? Cuddling _Sesshoumaru_ of all people! I've completely lost it, haven't I? I've got to stop this, before I make even more a fool of myself than I already have.' _she thought and lifted her head to look at him again.

What she saw made her heart skip a beat. Sesshoumaru was gazing at her intensely, his usually cold, indifferent eyes shining with wonder and a mix of raw emotion she wasn't able to decipher. He was even more gorgeous like this, his luminous eyes staring at her, his perfect face for once not completely devoid of all emotion.

He stared at her with his eyes of molten gold, shining brightly in the dark. His touches felt like fire to her body and when he bent down his head to lick her exposed neck without any warning she let out a startled gasp at the sudden spark of desire his touch caused.

For a short moment fear gripped her, as her mind screamed in panic to do anything, run away, fight, cry, just anything, but she couldn't move a muscle. She wanted, with all her being she longed for something she wasn't able to name. Her world narrowed down to the feeling of his hot, demanding mouth on her sensitive skin. There was nothing left for her to do other than melt into his touch. Distantly she felt his furry tail tightening around her waist, steadying her against him. His inquisitive hands roamed all over her body, caressing her, setting her completely on fire. Moaning quietly she held onto him for dear life when he started to caress her breasts through her clothes. Sesshoumaru's head was buried in the crook of her neck, tasting every inch of her skin.

'_Oh crap._' Kagome thought distantly. '_What have I gotten myself into?_'

OoooOoooO

_BR/N: This chapter has been censored to adhere to Fan Fiction . Net's submission guidelines. If you would like to read the full lemon, please visit A Single Spark: Kagome Sesshoumaru (the addy is http : kagsess.forsaken-faith. org/ fanficstories.php?aid885 , just remove the spaces). _

_I'd like to be the first to say that it is quite good, and an excellent read, so if you are of age and like lemons, you really should check it out. M'eyari_

OoooOoooO

_Much, much later…_

After some time Sesshoumaru regained enough presence of mind to remove his weight from the young miko's body. Slowly the red mist cleared from his view as he moved to lie next to her. He gazed at her nude form in awe for a moment. She looked so fragile to him now. Her eyes were closed and from her breathing he could tell that she was almost asleep. Her hair was mussed and a bit damp, her cheeks were still flushed, her shockingly long eye lashes lay as a shadow against her smooth, slightly tanned skin.

In this moment she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his long life and for once he realized what had so fascinated him about this girl: Purity. She literally glowed with it, wore it around her like a shield. Touching her, hurting her seemed almost like a crime. If he had known how, he probably would have felt sorry...

When she started to shiver from the cold night air, he grabbed the other sleeping bag and used it to cover her naked form. Sighing contentedly, she slowly opened her eyes. Kagome smiled at him sleepily and reached for his hand to pull him towards her. Complying with her wishes, he lay down next to her propped up on his elbow. She lifted her hand to his face and stroked his striped cheek gently, pulling his head further towards her. Again he complied and when he was almost nose to nose with the miko she pressed her velvety lips against his in a soft, fleeting caress. Kagome didn't see the confused expression on the demon lord's face, as she had already closed her eyes. Slowly Sesshoumaru moved a clawed hand towards his lips and touched them curiously. '_What did she do that for?_'

_OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo_

Sesshoumaru awoke to the singing of a particularly noisy bird, which was sitting atop of the tree he had slept under. It was early, but the sun had already risen. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept this long. After he had checked the area for any signs of danger and found none he started to think about the situation he was in. He was currently lying on his back with the ningen girl half atop of him, both of them were nude and his tail was wrapped securely around her. He had stooped so low as to mate with a mere human girl, Inuyasha's wench on top of that! What the hell had gotten into him!

Cursing himself for losing his hard obtained control so completely, he replayed the events of last night in his mind. Sesshoumaru had never been with any female who had been like her. Youkai mating was usually a quite violent act, a fight for dominance, mindless rutting to fulfil a basic need. But with this girl it had been different. She had been accepting, compliant and almost encouraging, obviously enjoying the attention he had bestowed upon her. The demon lord mentally shook himself; she was still only a ningen wench, completely unworthy of his company.

Her raven-haired head lay on his chest and her face was nuzzled in the crook of his neck. Looking further down he noticed that their entwined hands rested on his stomach. He wrinkled his nose in distaste of the position he was in, but why did it feel so good to be so close to her? Inhaling her pleasant scent deeply, he brought their hands up to his face for a careful inspection.

Her hand looked very small and fragile in his bigger one. Her fingers were slim and elegant. Sesshoumaru was surprised to find that humans had claws, too, but obviously far too dull and short to be of any use. Doubtless, they were weak creatures and he wondered how this girl could have survived that long, but then again she had had the half-breed to protect her. Sudden anger rose in him at this thought, although he couldn't for the world figure out why. But he wasn't able to stop the low growl which erupted from his throat. The girl atop of him stirred, obviously awoken by the noise he had made. Dropping her hand unceremoniously, he let his own to rest on the ground next to him.

Kagome felt better than she had in a long time. She had slept well and felt very rested and comfortable. Although she remembered her pillow to be softer, the furry blanket was warming her pleasantly. '_Wait a minute, since when have I had a furry blanket?_' she wondered sleepily. She moved a bit to nuzzle closer to the source of warmth next to her. Slowly her mind started to process her situation. '_Why am I naked in bed?_' she was musing idly when realization hit her like a ton of bricks. In the flash of a second she opened her eyes, and when she saw her suspicion confirmed her head shot up in shock, almost hitting Sesshoumaru's jaw. Luckily he was fast enough to move his head out of the way in time so that they were now face to face.

Amber eyes stared bemusedly into haunted blue ones. Kagome gulped hard and shook her head slowly. Two words escaped her in a small whisper:

"Oh shit."

OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoo

_A/N: Sorry for the cliffy, but I couldn't resist. So, I hope you enjoyed reading this and I wanted to say "thank you" to all my nice reviewers. You're a great audience! _

_Again special thanks go to my wonderful beta-reader M'eyari. What would I do without her?_

_By the way, if you're interested in a good story then take a look at her new one "An American Werewolf in Sengoku Jidai", it is really amazing!_


	5. Never Is a Promise

_Please RR !_

Chapter 5: Never Is a Promise

Kagome lowered her eyes and tried to move away from the demon quickly, but she soon noticed that she was held in place by his furry tail, which was still wrapped around her body. When she tugged at it lightly, Sesshoumaru quickly picked up what it was that she wanted and removed the appendage from her. In the next moment she jumped up with quite admirable speed for a human, taking the sleeping bag, which had served them as a blanket, with her to wrap around her naked body.

But she hadn't considered that this would leave Sesshoumaru uncovered and she blushed furiously as she couldn't help but stare at his nude form. He was lying on his side, propped up on his elbow, facing her. Blushing even more, her eyes travelled up and down his gorgeous body. _'Kami, I'm staring at his...Kagome, get a grip on yourself!_' she scolded and directed her gaze towards the two purple stripes, which adorned each side of his hip.

The youkai lord stared back at her unashamedly, raising a single eyebrow at her odd behaviour. He was almost dizzy from her drastic scent changes: From contentment, to shock, to utter mortification.

"Is it not a bit late for modesty, miko" he asked in his smoothest voice.

Kagome didn't know what to say. Of course he had seen her naked before, but now she had control over her body and mind again, so it wasn't quite the same. How could he just _lie_ there, completely uncovered on top of that, and not be affected by this terrible mess they were in?

"I...I think, I need a bath." she muttered, because she couldn't think of anything else to say and all she wanted at the moment was to be rid of his presence. Awkwardly, so not to drop her cover, she bent down and gripped her pack. Without giving him a second glance she headed into the forest towards the stream, desperate to be alone with her thoughts for a while.

When Kagome was sure that she had put a safe distance between herself and Sesshoumaru, she dropped her backpack behind some bushes. After scanning the area for any potential danger she pulled a knee-length t-shirt and some fresh panties out of it. Kagome let the sleeping bag fall to the ground and hurriedly pulled the garment over her head, shivering slightly although it was a quite warm autumn day. As soon as she was sufficiently covered she started to examine her body.

Walking here had hurt a bit, as she felt an unpleasant soreness in her lower regions. Carefully she took a closer look at her legs and she gasped in horror when she saw that her inner thighs were partly covered with dried blood and other, stickier, substances. She couldn't help the tears running down her face as she put her panties on and sat down on the mossy ground. Hugging her knees to her body she laid her head on top of them and wept.

The immense guilt she felt seemed to crush her slowly. What had she done? How could she have betrayed Inuyasha in such a terrible way? He was out there somewhere…he could be hurt…or worse…and she had had nothing better to do than to give her first kiss and her innocence to his evil half-brother?

She should _never_ have given in to this.

In that moment, all she wanted was to fade away, to stop feeling and lessen the pain and the guilt that flowed through her. But that wouldn't be right. For what she had done, she deserved to suffer.

_'Inuyasha will hate me when he finds out about this. And he has every right to. Oh gods, but I love him, I swear I love him. I have no idea how this could have happened. I didn't _mean_ for it to happen...Inuyasha, I'm so sorry.'_

Kagome began to cry harder. The tears just wouldn't stop falling. She was so confused and still not able to comprehend the whole situation completely. All she knew was that she was in pain, physically and mentally. She was so very ashamed of what she had done and she was sure that she would never be able to look Inuyasha straight in the face again.

After some time she had calmed down enough to decide that she had to go to the stream and get herself cleaned up. So she grabbed her pack and the sleeping bag and walked to the stream. When she arrived and dropped her things to start bathing herself, she discovered that Sesshoumaru had beaten her to it. He stood in the middle of the small stream with his back towards her as he cleaned himself. The water reached up to his waist, and although Kagome knew from past experience that the water was frigid, he didn't seem to mind at all.

For a moment Kagome just stared at him as he stood there in all his ethereal beauty. He looked perfect in every way possible. Oh, how she longed for the long lost illusions of her childhood, when outward beauty had automatically implied goodness, beauty of the mind. But Sesshoumaru wasn't a good person, not at all. But beautiful in appearance nevertheless...

When she couldn't bear it any longer, she turned her back towards him. What did he think of her now anyway? Would he tell Inuyasha about it to hurt him? Would he tell Inuyasha how she had moaned his name and begged him to continue as he had pleasured her? Unable to stop the tears which had resumed sliding down her cheeks, she sat down by the stream and cried again. She hated herself for being so weak and pathetic, but it was as though each new thought added more misery to the awful situation she was in.

Sesshoumaru had known that she was there for a while and he idly wondered what had taken her so long to get here. The sadness radiated off her in waves and it disturbed him slightly. What was it that made her so unhappy in contrast to her usual, annoyingly cheerful, nature? He didn't understand human thoughts and emotions at all. The girl should feel honoured to have lain with him, but instead she was saddened over something he didn't understand or know about.

When he stepped out of the water and clothed himself she was still sitting with her back towards him, weeping silently. Why was this girl always crying? The demon lord didn't like weeping females at all. It made them appear even weaker and more useless. Scenting the air closely he could still smell her dried blood on her. Obviously she hadn't been with anyone else before and probably she was in physical pain now. After all he was full youkai and it was surprising that they had fit together at all.

Silently he strode towards her and came to a halt directly behind her.

"Miko, are you hurt" he inquired in a matter of fact voice.

Slightly startled Kagome's head jerked around and she looked up at him unhappily. Regarding him for a few seconds, as if she needed time to process his question, she finally shook her head slowly. Then she turned to rest her head on her knees again.

A slight frown marred his handsome features as he continued to stare at her. She had confused him yet again with her strange behaviour. Apparently humans tended to live in extremes, either very happy or terribly sad. All of sudden Sesshoumaru felt a ridiculous urge to touch her, to make sure that she was still there and alive. Although he could be positive about both things without getting his hands filthy again.

"Miko." He repeated in his stoic tone, for the lack of anything else to say.

Again Kagome turned her head towards him. His face held its usual bored expression, although she could tell by now that he expected her to say or do something. But what should she tell him? She was desperate and she didn't want to talk to him. At the moment she wished for nothing more that to be back home again, to have a hot bath and be soothed by her mother. Most likely he wouldn't understand what troubled her anyway, as he obviously didn't feel any remorse about what had happened between them the previous night. But on the other hand, she doubted that he would ever let it show if anything did bother him.

Unable to look at his face any longer, she lowered her eyes to the ground. She had never felt so weak and silly in her life, so completely at a loss what to do or say. Probably it would be best to first get herself clean and then to start thinking about the future.

So Kagome began to get up shakily, slightly wincing from the pain that shot through her legs and lower abdomen. When she had managed to stand on both her legs her vision suddenly went black and she felt herself rapidly losing her balance. Bracing herself for a hard impact with the ground, she was surprised to feel strong arms encircle her and keep her from tumbling before she passed out completely.

When she regained consciousness again some time later, she found herself lying on her back in the soft grass. She felt a bit chilled and still very weak. Gradually memories of what had happened before flashed through her mind. Moaning quietly in frustration she decided that she would have preferred to stay unconscious a bit longer.

As she noticed the soft brush of something wet against her skin she opened her eyes in surprise and took a startled look at her surroundings. Glancing down her body she could see Sesshoumaru, who was currently kneeling between her legs. Obviously he was busy with another task, as he wasn't looking at her and his brows were furrowed in concentration. Then his face disappeared and she felt something brush the skin of her inner thigh again and stiffened immediately. The touch was far too intimate for comfort and, suddenly filled with panic, she bounced into a sitting position.

Sesshoumaru ignored her sudden movements and continued licking her slightly bruised skin clean, getting slowly closer to her center. Although she couldn't make out the reason clearly, a terrible fear gripped her and her throat constricted so painfully that it was hard to breath. Her mind was troubled with sudden panic and all she knew was that she had to do something to stop him. Without any coherent thought Kagome lifted her hand from her side quickly. In this moment the demon lord looked up and gazed at her curiously, wondering what had caused the sudden change in her scent.

Before he could realize what she was about to do, her hand impacted with his left cheek, hard enough to make his head turn a fraction. It hadn't really hurt him, but he was simply too dumbfounded to react immediately. Trying hard to wrap his mind around what had just transpired he failed miserably.

Sesshoumaru remained kneeling between her legs, his face holding a rare expression of utter shock. Still he was more surprised and confused than annoyed, but the anger was gradually seeping through him. He slowly turned back his head and fixed her with one of his unreadable stares. Eventually his mind recovered enough to produce a train of coherent thought:

_'She slapped me. That human wench had the insolence to slap me...'_

And he had no idea what had caused this reaction. He had not intended any harm to her. This was definitely one of the most humiliating things that had ever happened to him. Never had anyone dared to lay hand on his person in such an insulting manner, but now here he was, frozen in place with the ningen girl who had turned his life upside down in just a few days, offended beyond all expectations, but still somehow unable to execute any kind of revenge...

Kagome looked at him in complete horror, realizing what had just happened.

_'Oh Kami, I slapped him. Alright, kill me now...'_

She was sure that she had finally managed to provoke him into murdering her instantly and her mind was frantically searching for a way out of this fatal situation. But before she could do or say anything, she saw the expression in Sesshoumaru's cold eyes change. They were suddenly blazing with hot anger and Kagome gulped inaudibly. Snarling at her viciously he got up in a fluid motion, turned on his heels and began to stride away from her at a quick pace.

_'Wow, what was that...?'_ Kagome stared at his retreating form disbelievingly. Never had she witnessed a display of such temper from him. But she was clearly relieved that he had refrained from hurting her in return, at least for the time being.

But still, he had deserved it. What had he been thinking anyway? How _dare_ he try to take advantage of her while she was unconscious? Kagome was fuming with anger. Slowly she bent down to examine her thighs and found that most of the dried blood had been removed and that she was almost clean again. Her face screwed up in distaste when she realized that Sesshoumaru had obviously licked it off of her. Why had he done that? And why hadn't he just taken her by force, if he had wanted her again? It didn't make any sense.

_'Shit, I hate this day!' _she thought grumpily.

Deciding that it would be wise to clean herself up before doing anything else, she stripped hurriedly and started to wash herself. After ten minutes in the cold water and a lot of soap and scrubbing, she decided that she was sufficiently clean and stepped out, shivering violently. As soon as she was clothed again, she took her belongings and ran after the youkai. She wasn't very keen on facing or, even worse, talking to him, but her greatest fear at the moment was that he had gone for good and left her alone in the middle of nowhere. Wondering sourly what else could happen to make this day more horrible, she reached her camp after another ten minutes.

To her great relief, Sesshoumaru was sitting at his accustomed place under the tree. She gave him a nervous glance, not quite sure how to approach him, but he had obviously decided to ignore her presence. Dropping her pack and the sleeping bag with a sigh she tried to gain his attention, but nothing happened.

As Kagome had nothing else to do she started to gradually tidy up the place. First she collected the remains of her clothes which had been shredded by Sesshoumaru last night. Remembering the whole thing now caused her to blush a quite deep shade of red. Shaking herself mentally she stuffed the rest of her torn clothes in her pack. _'They're definitely ruined, what a pity. I really liked these pants...'_ Kagome thought reproachfully.

After that she went to examine the sleeping bag they had slept on. Wrinkling her nose she noticed that it was also dirty in some places. She would have to go home and wash it before she could use it again. As soon as Kagome had coiled up the sleeping bag and put it into her pack, she felt sick again.

She wondered regretfully what state of mind she had been in to be able to have sex with Sesshoumaru. With him, of all people...and he hadn't even exactly forced her into it. Alright, he hadn't stopped when she had wanted him to, although she also knew that wanting to stop the whole thing at that point might have been a bit late. But, at the beginning, when she probably could have stopped him, she hadn't even tried. Kagome was disgusted with her own weakness. She had always thought that her mind was much stronger than her body, but obviously she had been sadly mistaken.

How had it been possible that she had let this happen? Of course she had been frightened and sad because of that entirely too realistic nightmare. And yes, Sesshoumaru had comforted her in a strange fit of kindness. But what exactly had happened that had made her willing to lose her virginity to an arrogant, unfeeling and violent youkai five hundred years in the past? She was still in love with Inuyasha, and being in love meant being faithful after all. Oh, how she despised herself for her weakness...

Eventually she stopped her musings. It wouldn't do any good to dwell in the past, as she couldn't change it anyway. And although she felt terrible there were more pressing matters at hand. Taking a careful look at Sesshoumaru, she found that he hadn't moved a muscle during the time she had been here. He had apparently decided to ignore her completely.

Sighing in exasperation, she made her way to the place where he was sitting on the ground and knelt down next to him awkwardly. Unfortunately, there was no way of delaying this confrontation any further.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have slapped you. But you really scared me...you know, these things can never happen again..." she stammered, eyeing him suspiciously, still wary of the thought that his control might snap suddenly. But he didn't even turn his head.

Kagome was desperate. She had no idea what was going on inside him. _'Probably he is contemplating how or when he will kill me...maybe now...or rather later...' _she thought cynically.

It was easy for her to read most people, to understand their feelings and reactions. But he was a mystery and she had probably never felt so far away from any person. God, she had bedded him last night and she couldn't even have a decent conversation with the guy! Her life was a mess!

She would have given nearly everything she owned to know what he was thinking. Did he regret what had happened or would he like to repeat it? Had he intended to make any advances towards her back at the stream? Or was there another reason behind his odd behaviour? Had she hurt him in saying that she didn't want to be intimate with him again? Was he relieved? Did it matter to him at all? The uncertainty and his complete lack of emotion were driving her mad. She had to do something, as the situation was too awkward to put up with it any longer.

"Please, just talk to me" Kagome begged quietly.

Slowly, the taiyoukai turned towards her. His expression was slightly bored, but his eyes appeared somewhat troubled.

"What do you wish me to say" he asked stoically.

Sighing in relief, Kagome graced him with a small smile.

"Just tell me what you are thinking" she said hopefully.

"That I should kill you this instant" he stated bluntly.

Kagome gulped audibly, as the smile was wiped off her face. It took her a few seconds to recover from the initial shock.

"So...why don't you" she asked, sounding amazingly calm to her own ears.

"This I do not know, miko." the youkai replied truthfully.

His answer wasn't really satisfying, but she could tell that it wouldn't get any better. So he obviously wasn't able to kill her. That was a good sign, wasn't it?

In a sudden flash of boldness she reached out slowly to touch the cheek she had slapped earlier. "Does it still hurt" she inquired gently. But before she could have reached him, he caught her wrist in an iron grip. Amber eyes locked with hers in a cold stare.

"No human such as yourself could ever hurt this Sesshoumaru, wench" he hissed tersely.

Startled, she gaped at him. His tight grip hurt her wrist and he was obviously so pissed off that they were back at the 'wench-thing'. Although she really wanted to, she couldn't think of anything to say or do to improve the situation.

Suddenly she felt him stiffening besides her and in the next moment she was jerked into an upright position. Sesshoumaru was standing in front of her in an almost protective manner, but he let go of her wrist eventually. Kagome gazed at him worriedly.

"What is it? What's happening" she asked, concern clearly lacing her voice.

The moment until he answered her question stretched endlessly for her. She remembered her thoughts from earlier: Probably there actually were some things that could happen and make this day even worse. For example a violent youkai, or a whole bunch of violent youkai, or Naraku and his minions. The list seemed almost endless now.

"It is that hanyou. He is probably coming to get you." Sesshoumaru stated in his usual, bored tone. It took some time until Kagome had processed the information. But then her face lit up with joy and her stomach did an odd flip flop.

"Inuyasha? He's coming here" she asked hopefully. Nodding curtly, the demon lord never turned his gaze from the trees in front of them.

Then she heard a rustle in these trees and Inuyasha, clad in his usual red attire, emerged from the forest. Kagome was sure she would burst from all the joy and relief she suddenly felt. He was alive and well...and he had come to get her back! Without another thought she ran over the clearing towards the hanyou. "Inuyasha" she called happily.

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks in surprise. When Kagome reached him, she literarily jumped at him, hugging him enthusiastically. His arms went around her waist of their own accord as she hid her face on his shoulder and cried because she was so happy and so confused at the same time. Inuyasha glanced down at her worriedly, disturbed by her odd behaviour.

"Kagome, are you hurt? What did he do to you" he inquired hotly, shooting a dirty look at Sesshoumaru, who had remained standing calmly on the other side of the clearing.

Suddenly Kagome went rigid in his arms, as all sorts of horrible scenarios flashed through her mind. What if Sesshoumaru told Inuyasha about everything? What if they started a fight? Kagome felt sick again.

Quickly she raised her head to look at Inuyasha.

"Nothing, he didn't do anything to me. I'm alright. I'm just so happy to see you again. I was really worried, you know..." she babbled hurriedly.

Inuyasha's features softened as he gazed down at her almost gently. When he had finally caught her scent along with Sesshoumaru's he had feared the worst. Seeing her as happy and as alive as ever filled him with much more joy than he had ever thought himself capable of.

"You were worried for me" he asked, his voice husky with suppressed emotion.

"Of course...and I missed you so much" she whispered before she pulled him into another tight hug.

Sesshoumaru was still standing rigidly on the other side of the clearing, watching the whole scene with a bored expression. Not the slightest frown betrayed his confusion and inner turmoil.

Anger, unbidden and unwanted, boiled inside of him and made his own body feel foreign, like he was in physical pain without any kind of injury. Watching the scene before him intently, a stab of sudden longing shot through him and he felt almost sick.

At the same time he was sure that he had never wanted Inuyasha dead as much as he did now. The thought of slicing the hanyou's throat was strangely soothing to his boiling blood. And the more primal part of his nature would have been quite happy with this relatively simple solution. But his rational side forbade any reaction on pure impulse. The last time he had given in to one of these impulses, he had awoken to the sight of a filthy human in his arms.

Sesshoumaru had no idea what was wrong with him. He, of all demons, _never_ showed any emotional reactions. But he couldn't deny that he was gradually losing control of this situation.

"You were worried for me" he heard Inuyasha's voice ask.

"Of course...and I missed you so much." the girl whispered gently, happiness rolling off of her in waves. '_She had missed _him_? That worthless half-breed? Why would she do that?_' Sesshoumaru wondered incredulously, again unable to comprehend why those simple words bothered him so much.

Shaking himself mentally, he pondered about this odd situation. He had known that the girl cared deeply for Inuyasha, had even risked her own life to protect the hanyou. So why did this fact strike him as so wrong all of sudden?

Surprised by his own lack of control, he noticed that his hand had darted to the handle of his sword, ready to rid the world of the hanyou's presence for good. But losing control again was unacceptable and he tightened the reins on his youkai blood.

The only other option was to leave immediately. He needed time to understand what had caused him to react so atypically. Emotion was weakness, and he couldn't tolerate any weakness in his own self.

Glancing one last time at the miko in Inuyasha's arms, Sesshoumaru noticed that her face was turned towards him. Her raven hair was swaying gently in the soft breeze and the sunlight caught in her ocean blue eyes, making them shine and sparkle prettily. For a moment he returned her gaze intensely, as if he could find all the answers to his questions in her eyes. Emotions he wasn't quite able to decipher flickered through those sapphire orbs. Regret, perhaps, or even sadness.

Why he was reluctant to leave was beyond his knowledge, but he managed to tear his gaze away from her eventually. Turning on the spot, he vanished into the forest without another glance back.

_A/N: Hi everybody! Sorry for not updating earlier, but again I'm really busy with university stuff at the moment. I'll try to be faster with chapter 6 though._

_I want to thank all the nice people who have sent me reviews! That's really the best motivation you can get!_


	6. No Sunshine

Disclaimer: Not mine….

Please Rate and Review!

Chapter 6: No Sunshine

As though she were in a weird kind of trance, Kagome kept staring at the spot from which Sesshoumaru had vanished mere seconds ago. Slowly a strong feeling of relief started to flow through her.

Nothing had happened.

The demon lord had neither picked a fight with Inuyasha nor told him about what had occurred between them. He had simply left, although it wasn't normal for him to back down from anything. Most likely, he had wanted to leave before. What could have made him stay anyway?

One part of her was very happy that he was finally gone and never wanted to see him again. Another part felt slightly sorry about the friend she had probably lost. But then again, he had never been her friend, the idea alone was hilarious. People like Sesshoumaru didn't _have_ any friends, especially not friends who were weak, pathetic humans. Then what was he to her? An enemy? An acquaintance? A lover?

"Hey, where did that bastard go?" Inuyasha's yell interrupted her train of thought. The hanyou had released her and was glaring at the spot in which the demon lord had previously been occupying.

"He left." Kagome stated calmly.

Inuyasha turned his still heated gaze back on Kagome.

"Yes, I can see _that_ for myself." he stated gruffly. "Kagome…tell me, what did he do to you?" The hanyou demanded suspiciously, although concern was more than evident in his tone.

Kagome sighed unhappily, not really willing to talk about the subject. She despised lying, especially to Inuyasha, but how could she ever tell him the truth without making him hate her?

"I've already told you, he didn't do anything," she replied quietly. After a short pause and an incredulous snort from Inuyasha she continued. "Where are Sango, Miroku and Shippo? Are they well?"

"Yeah, they're alright. They'll be here soon. They just weren't able to keep up with my pace," he answered distractedly. "What do you mean he didn't do anything? His disgusting scent is all over you! Yuck! Kagome, what the hell happened here?"

Her heart skipped one beat and her breath hitched in her throat._ 'Kami, he knows..._' Kagome went as pale as a sheet of fine paper. Her mind was reeling. _'Calm down, he can't possibly be able to smell _that_! I've cleaned myself up thoroughly.' _Trying to calm herself and hide her discomfort, she decided to answer him quickly and as truthfully as she dared, already knowing that Inuyasha wouldn't like any part of the truth.

"When I fled from the battlefield, like you told me to, I was followed by one of Naraku's minions. I don't know how, but I managed to dodge it. I sensed some jewel shards and when I followed them, I found this clearing. And…and I ran into Sesshoumaru. He was unconscious and badly injured and he probably would have died, so I helped him and..."

"You did WHAT? You helped HIM?" Inuyasha interrupted her hotly, his amber eyes glaring at her angrily. "What, did it just slip your mind how many times he's tried to kill me and steal the Tessaiga? He's even attempted to murder you whenever you got in his way! What the hell were you thinking?"

It was kind of strange, both brothers had amber coloured eyes, but they couldn't be more different in expression. Inuyasha's eyes were always heated with emotion. Shining with anger, happiness or affection, they were always full of life, while Sesshoumaru's were always as cold as the grave. Just one gaze from him could make her shiver, the chill that lingered in his eyes reaching icy fingers into her very soul. They appeared to be dead, those eyes, their coldness denying the possibility of life itself. But then again…last night, and today, she had seen bits of pent up emotion showing in those eyes. What a strange creature Sesshoumaru was.

Bringing herself back to the conversation, she tried to pacify the upset hanyou. "Calm down, Inuyasha. You know that I can't just let people die when I have a choice in the matter, not even someone like him. By the way, he gave me four Shikon shards in return. Who knows? He might even be grateful enough to stop bothering us all of the time."

"Grateful, my ass! He wouldn't even know the meaning of the word!" Inuyasha declared crossly.

Heaving another sigh Kagome said "Inuyasha, I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I believe that all life is sacred and as long as I am able to, I will offer help to the people who need it. And I don't make any exceptions."

"Feh!" Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and snorted in exasperation.

But after a moment his features began to soften again. He just couldn't be angry at Kagome for long periods of time. For him the young miko was the epitome of all that was good and kind. She was the friendliest and most selfless person he had ever met and although her temper sometimes got the better of her, her moral conduct was that of a true miko. From the moment he had met her, she had always been unconditionally willing to help all kinds of creatures. She really didn't make any distinctions between people and that was what had allowed her to accept even him, a hanyou and the bastard get of a demon lord, willingly and without hesitation.

Shaking his head slightly, he wondered why he was actually surprised that she could even muster some compassion for Sesshoumaru, in spite of him being the jerk he was.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise in the trees behind the couple and Kagome and Inuyasha turned around just in time to see Sango, Miroku and Shippo arrive on the fire neko.

"KAGOME!" Shippo squealed and jumped off the big cat faster than anybody had thought him capable of. Practically flying over to the girl, he launched himself into her waiting arms. Kagome hugged him tightly, relieved and happy to see him well.

"Kagome, I'm so glad that you're alright," he murmured with his head buried in her shoulder. Lifting it abruptly he asked "You _are_ alright, aren't you?"

"I'm fine, Shippo. What about you?" The miko replied while she patted the kitsune's head lovingly.

"I'm alright, only Inuyasha and Sango got hurt in the battle," the little fox informed her, cuddling back into her shoulder.

"You were injured?" Kagome asked, turning towards Inuyasha in worry.

Shrugging, the hanyou replied nonchalantly. "Nothing too serious. I've already completely healed."

Satisfied with his answer, Kagome directed her gaze to the girl in front of her, who had just dismounted from the fire cat. "What about you Sango-chan?"

"I'm fine, Kagome-chan. I'm just relieved to find you in good health, as well." Sango said before she walked over to the other girl quickly and gave her a tight hug. As soon as Sango had released her, Miroku embraced her as well.

"Ah, I'm also happy to have you back again, Kagome. We were quite worried for you," he said before his hand travelled south and grabbed her butt tightly.

"Miroku!" Kagome shrieked, one hand itching to smack him.

But Sango sprang to her aid immediately. "Get your hands off of her, you lecher!" She hollered before she smacked him on the head with her gigantic boomerang. Miroku tumbled back with a happy smile on his face, caressing his wounded head.

"No need to be jealous, my dear Sango."

The taijya just snorted coolly and directed her attention back to Kagome. "What happened to you? Have you been here all this time?"

Before Kagome could answer her friend's question Inuyasha remarked scathingly "Yes, she stayed here the entire time and nursed Sesshoumaru back to health, so he can go on harassing us in his pursuit of my property!"

"Sesshoumaru? Is that true, Kagome?" Sango asked incredulously. Even Shippo had lifted his head from her shoulder to give the girl a questioning look.

Glaring daggers at the smug looking hanyou, Kagome tried to explain her actions. "He was badly wounded. I couldn't have just walked away and let him die, could I?

Shrugging, Sango just gave her a pointed look. Killing demons was what she had been trained to do all her life, so she had difficulties in comprehending Kagome's ethical doubts. Kagome wouldn't even have had to actually kill Sesshoumaru and as he was a threat to them it hadn't been a wise decision to keep him alive in Sango's opinion.

But it was far from her to reproach her friend for having a better heart then herself and most of the people she knew. The world and the creatures living in it, men and youkai alike, were bad enough as it was. There was no point in dimming the light that was Kagome's goodness, although sometimes the taijya simply failed to understand the strange girl from the future, dearest friend or not.

"Might I suggest that we return to the village for the night? You must be terribly tired, Kagome." Miroku submitted, interrupting the uneasy silence and changing the topic efficiently. Kagome graced him with a small, grateful smile and he smiled back at her knowingly. At times like these Kagome really wondered why the monk masked his true wise and caring self with the attitude of an easygoing lecher.

_OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOo_

Sesshoumaru was sitting in a meadow, a tough breeze tugging at his long hair, while he watched Rin picking the last flowers of autumn. It was still early in the afternoon, but grey clouds hung low in the sky, completely blocking the sunlight. The wind smelled of rain and the approaching winter. It would come early this year.

After he had returned to his home the day before, the little girl had hardly left his side. Obviously she had been quite worried for him and somehow this thought managed to slightly improve his bad mood. He honestly had no idea what it was that the strange human child saw in him, as she showered him with affection and trusted him blindly. The youkai lord was still not sure if she really understood what he was and in what relation they should normally be.

Rin didn't speak much, and neither did he, so he had never found out what was going on in her mind. Not that he had been very curious. In an odd way he had just succumbed to the fact that she shared his life now. Since the moment he had revived her with the Tenseiga and she had decided to follow him, it had just seemed…right.

_/ "I couldn't just sit here, knowing that you needed help, and not help you." /_

Were all of their kind like that or had he just met the two most peculiar females? Considering the knowledge he had about humans in general, probably the latter was true. All in all humans were weak, pathetic and meaningless creatures, chaotic and unintelligent in their ways of fighting and living.

To his great dismay he found his thoughts returning to the human miko. It felt strange to think about her, the way she smelled pleasantly of sunlight and flowers, the different nuances of her melodic voice. How useless it was to care about such unimportant facts. But somehow she just made him do the oddest things, moving and undoing him in ways undefined. And it confused him to no end.

There was no possible way to rationally explain how he had acted around her. Touching her and being touched by her in return had caused the most alien but not unpleasant sensations. Her scent was most intoxicating, too, but that couldn't be the explanation, could it? He had never reacted to any female like that. Usually he didn't spare them a second glance once his need was satisfied and the mere thought of ever being with a filthy ningen should have made him sick for several days.

What the hell had made him lie with her in the first place? And what had possessed him to touch her again afterwards. Well, it might have been motivated by her heady smell and his only intention at that time had, however paradoxically, been to aid her. But all of that should have never happened at all…

By now he was almost certain that it was part of the spell the wench had placed upon him. His pride bristled with indignation at the thought that most likely he had been tricked by this insolent ningen.

As soon as he had discovered that he had lost the ability to use the parts of his powers which required any kind of magic, he had ransacked his library for any possible explanation. But he hadn't found the slightest hint concerning the cause of his condition. So the only option left was that the priestess had put him under a spell, disabling him to use certain aspects of his powers.

On the other hand it was doubtful that she was powerful and skilled enough to cast such a spell and he would have noticed it, wouldn't he? Sesshoumaru loathed ignorance, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Except...except he could find someone who had the answers to his questions. In a heartbeat he was on his feet.

"Rin!" He called.

The girl's head emerged from the high grass instantly.

"Hai?"

"Return to the castle, Rin. Now."

Her expression faltered slightly at his request, but she was already smiling again when she picked up her bundle of flowers and ran towards the waiting youkai lord.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, look at all the beautiful flowers Rin has picked," the little girl squealed happily as she presented her work to him.

Without saying anything, he kept looking at her sternly. Rin fidget under his intense stare, suddenly finding her fingers very interesting, which were currently playing with the sash of her kimono. Glancing at him occasionally she began to worry her lower lip with her teeth.

"...I...I have picked," she corrected herself tentatively.

Sesshoumaru gave her a short nod of approval.

"Very well, Rin. You may give them to Akiko when you arrive at the castle. She will take care of them." he said smoothly before he lifted her up and placed her on the two-headed dragon's back.

"Won't you come with us, my lord?" Rin asked, sounding slightly upset with the thought of him leaving her yet again.

"No, I have some business I must tend to. But I shall return shortly." he replied stoically, leaving no room for discussion. Then he turned to face the dragon.

"Ah-Un, you will take her directly to the castle, understand?"

The dragon nodded both of his shaggy heads to confirm his lord's demand. Then he spread his wings and took flight. The taiyoukai watched them rising high into the air, moving quickly in the direction of their home. Turning half around on the dragon's back, Rin waved goodbye to him enthusiastically.

Sesshoumaru cursed mentally as soon as he remembered he wouldn't be able to use his transportation cloud to get to his destination. Doing his nearly invisible version of a shrug, he started to run towards the north with lightning speed.

When he finally reached the place he had sought, he stood still, waiting patiently. In this part, the forest seemed to be darker and much thicker than anywhere else and in some places there was no way of passing through at all. Suddenly he could feel a crackle of energy in the air and a humming sound filled the otherwise silent forest. He watched calmly as a twisted face gradually appeared in the tree trunk directly in front of him. The ancient earth spirit yawned lazily before he opened his eyes, gleaming with age and wisdom, eventually focusing his gaze at Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, what a pleasure. I thought another hundred years would pass before I saw you again." Bokusenou said in his low, rumbling voice.

Despising unnecessary speech, the youkai lord decided to ignore the comment.

"Bokusenou, I have questions." Sesshoumaru announced, voice smooth and indifferent.

"Of course. You always have, Western Lord."

Glaring at the tree, he bared his fangs slightly. He didn't like to be mocked in the slightest. Bokusenou knew of course how little meaning the title really held. That he, the great Western Lord's son had been presented with nothing but a pile of broken glass as a heirloom and how many of his father's former influence and property had been lost. He didn't want to be reminded of that fact now.

Tilting his head arrogantly he settled on ignoring the tree's remark again and decided to resolve the more pressing matters.

"I have been put under a spell by a miko and I need to know how to remove it." he stated in his usual detached tone, as if he were talking about some unimportant acquaintance of his.

"Hmm, that is strange, Sesshoumaru-sama. I cannot sense any magic on you."

"That would be the problem. I am unable to use any of my magical powers since I have been hexed."

Sesshoumaru could swear that he saw the earth spirits wooden eyebrows jerk up in surprise and his eyes widen slightly, but then the expression was replaced by a more neutral one. Continuing to stare intensely at the demon in front of him for a while, Bokusenou seemed to ponder about what he had heard previously. Finally he decided to speak.

"What exactly have you done with that miko?"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow arched almost into his hair from shock and he had to violently stomp down his rising embarrassment before it threatened to heat up his face. _'How could he know about it?' _he wondered before he straightened his back into an even more rigid posture and asked coldly:

"What would that have to do with the spell?"

"So you have lain with the miko," the spirit chuckled lowly.

Years of hard training started to pay off now, as not even one muscle in the taiyoukai's face twitched and he was able to maintain his usual, slightly bored expression.

"I did not say that," he replied icily.

"Of course not, but it is true anyway."

Giving the insolent tree one of his most deadly glares, he snorted quietly.

Appearing to be completely unimpressed, Bokusenou continued: "You are not under a spell, Sesshoumaru. If you were, I would feel the magical energy on you that is required to make the spell work. So the loss of your powers must have another cause."

The demon lord's dismay grew with every word. A nagging voice in the back of his mind had told him all along that it had been absolutely ridiculous to assume that this miko, of all people, would have put him under a spell. She wasn't the type to do such a thing. And now that same nagging voice predicted that he definitely wouldn't like the outcome of Bokusenou's little assessment of the situation.

"There was an ancient tale told long, long ago, when only few humans inhabited these beautiful islands. No animosity existed between these humans and the ruling youkai. In fact, one powerful demon fell in love with one of the first women of the miko breed. This young miko was the purest and most beautiful creature that had ever set foot on this earth and was widely known for her kindness and compassion"

Sesshoumaru snorted again, amber eyes narrowing a fraction in displeasure. _'Fell in love? With a _ningen_, of all creatures? Fine youkai that was.'_ He thought crossly, but kept his silence.

"Their love was pure and the kami took a liking to this mixed couple, allowing the two to stay together and share their powers. And the youkai's restless soul found a home in the human woman, for what misfortune sowed her simple touch could erase." Bokusenou narrated, pausing slightly for dramatic effect, before continuing:

"But other youkai did not desire for one of their own to mingle their blood with that of the mortal humans. So they formed a devious plot to sow distrust between the lovers. With a treacherous deceit they fooled the demon into believing that his mate would betray his trust and secretly lie with another. Upon hearing and believing their false vows his heart broke and grew cold as ice. Despair and blind rage possessed his soul and when he returned to the miko's village and she ran swiftly to embrace him, he drew his katana and stabbed it through her heart. She died at his feet."

"Of course the humans sought revenge for the loss of their kindest and most beautiful child and from that day on there was hatred and war between youkai and men."

"The kami, on the other hand, were displeased with the youkai for setting up their cunning trap, but also with the demon, who had lost the trust in the one being that truly loved him with ease. It was a dreadful crime to slaughter something as pure as this human miko. Therefore the kami bestowed the power to destroy demons upon the miko. To hunt them down, kill them with their arrows and protect mankind from their wrath. Since then miko and youkai meet only as enemies, destined never to love or touch one another in passion ever again." The tree spirit concluded heavily, the tone of his voice barely giving away his own sadness.

Sesshoumaru had listened silently. His mind was still processing the information he had just received. Why didn't he know this story? There were many tales about the beginning of time and the animosity between the races of youkai and men, but he had never heard of this particular one.

"So you expect me to believe this fairy tale and acknowledge that there is a mystical connection between youkai and miko if they do not meet as enemies?" He demanded sharply, arching one silver eyebrow even as his question mocked the old spirit.

"Hai." Bokusenou stated simply.

The youkai lord suppressed the urge to sigh in exasperation. Instead he decided to probe further.

"There are many tales, not one alike, about the beginning of the enmity between the races of youkai and men. Why, of all these tales, should I believe that this one holds the truth?"

"Because, Sesshoumaru, I know that it is true." the tree replied solemnly. "Look over there, where the coppice is the thickest. There was where the miko's village lay so many ages ago."

Sesshoumaru's head, which had followed Bokusenou's directions, jerked back in surprise. Although he had known that the tree spirit was very old, he hadn't assumed he had been around for such a long time. Before he could have recovered completely from his surprise, he heard Bokusenou ask.

"Who is your miko, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"She is of no importance and none of your concern." he stated quickly.

"I might be old, but I am not stupid, Western Lord. I think there is only one possibility. Which ordinary miko would let you anywhere near her?"

Shrugging almost invisibly, Sesshoumaru ignored him yet again, his mind still occupied with what he had discovered.

"It was the strange girl that travels with your half-brother, the one that seems to have no clear conception of youkai and their relation to men, was it not?"

Glaring daggers at the impertinent tree, the demon pondered whether the spirit's enormous knowledge was more of a blessing or a curse.

"What difference would that make?" he bit out resentfully.

"None, I am just curious." the tree replied nonchalantly. "Listen to me, Sesshoumaru-sama. The effect of your powers mingling with the miko's is singular and it affects her powers as well as yours. As her powers are exclusively magical, only this aspect of your own powers has been affected. There is nothing that can be done about it, but after a certain time period it will eventually wear off. During this time both of you will only be able to access your magical abilities if you are near one another."

Finally Sesshoumaru admitted that his inner voice had been right: He didn't like the outcome of this conversation at all. Giving a curt nod, the demon lord indicated that he had understood. There was obviously nothing he could do about the whole mess, so it would be unreasonable to waste any energy in fighting it.

"How long will it take for this state to wear off?" he demanded.

"To my knowledge there is no fixed timeframe. I believe it depends on the individual abilities of the persons involved."

Nodding again, Sesshoumaru considered his options.

"What will happen if I kill her?"

Bokusenou gapped at the demon in utter shock for a moment, not expecting even Sesshoumaru to suggest such a thing.

"I do not know," he answered truthfully after a short pause, voice a bit uneven. "But I assumed that you had taken a liking to the miko."

"I can assure you that no such thing has happened. She is but another worthless ningen." he drawled with a voice so chilly it could probably make Hell freeze over.

Bokusenou sighed almost inaudibly and closed his eyes for a short moment. The youkai's next question brought him out of his thoughts again:

"Bokusenou, is there anything else I need to know?"

"No, nothing else."

"Then I will take my leave now. You have proven yourself as useful as ever, although your insolence is most annoying at times." Sesshoumaru stated presumptuously.

The tree spirit just chuckled softly in response and watched the demon lord, whom he had known since he had been a little pup, turn and walk away proudly at a measured pace. A sudden thought caused Sesshoumaru to stop dead in his tracks and turn half-way round again.

"Bokusenou, one more question. What happened to the youkai?"

"He was cursed by the kami to live an immortal life as a prisoner, alone with the knowledge of truth and the regret for his hideous deed."

After raising an elegant brow at the tree, the youkai resumed his way back to his home, silently contemplating the cryptic answer he had just received.

_ooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOoo_

_A/N: Again thanks to all of you for supporting me! That's what makes me go on with this story._


	7. Blindness

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately I still don't own Inuyasha._

_Please R&R!_

Chapter 7: Blindness

Sesshoumaru slept fitfully, his body tossing and turning in a manner that did not bode well for his bed linens. In his mind he was tormented by soft lips that drank of his own, by the feel of supple skin that danced beneath his body, by the sexual fire that burned in a certain miko's eyes…

Sesshoumaru awoke with a start, sitting upright on his futon instantly. He was breathing heavily, still caught in the aftermath of this far too realistic dream he had just woken from. Pressing a clawed hand to his temple, he tried to make sense of what he had experienced a few moments ago. He had never before been plagued by erotic dreams; the very concept was foreign to him. He found himself disoriented by the intense sensations that flooded his body and mind. This was most embarrassing and ridiculous, how could he be so responsive to something as simple and as unreal as a dream?

Mulling over the strange situation he found himself in, he wondered if this was also a part of the mysterious connection between himself and the miko that Bokusenou had spoken about. But obviously the tree had failed to mention that the ningen girl would also plague his dreams in such intimate ways.

On the other hand it was also possible that the only reason for this whole ordeal was him being in need of female company. If this weren't the cause then why would he have lain with the miko in the first place? Probably he should remedy this problem as soon as possible. There were certainly enough suitable female youkai available for his needs.

But that wouldn't solve his other problems and Sesshoumaru felt the beginnings of a headache while he massaged his temples. His life was completely out of control since he had first met the miko in the forest about two weeks ago. What angered him most was that his powers were limited due to the wench's doing. He missed his magic abilities dearly, especially his light whip and poison claw during battle.

Of course, he still surpassed all his opponents widely by skill, intellect and speed, but the loss was most annoying. And there probably wouldn't be an improvement any time soon. First he had hoped this connection with the miko would only last for a few days, but obviously he had been sadly mistaken. What if this would go on for a much longer period of time? No, that would be unbearable. Maybe his original intention to wait until it wore off wasn't the best idea, after all.

Bokusenou had said that he would regain full access to his powers if he was near the miko. So perhaps he should pay his half-brother a visit and borrow the little miko for as long as it took for this thing to wear off? Most likely she was of no use to her companions, considering that she would not have access to her own powers.

Certain that he would not be getting any more sleep this night, the taiyoukai rose and lit one of the small oil lamps, which were placed on the low table situated in a corner of his chamber. Sitting down on the wooden floor in a graceful motion, he took a scroll off the table delicately, resuming last evening's reading.

_oooOoooOooo_

Kagome sat down on the mossy ground heavily with a groan, stretching her abused legs. Shippo fell into her lap with an exhausted sigh and went to sleep almost instantly. It was afternoon by now and they had been walking for the whole day. Such had been their daily routine for the last two weeks, and only because she hadn't sensed one single shard of the Shikon No Tama the entire time. It was a mystery to her why they hadn't come across a shard yet. Usually it wasn't that hard to find some stray youkai carrying one.

But as hard as she had tried she couldn't feel the magical tug she usually experienced if a shard was anywhere near. In fact, she couldn't sense anything at all, not even the presence of any youkai. After about two weeks of fruitlessly searching the countryside, she couldn't help but wonder if there was anything wrong with her miko powers. But Kagome hadn't any idea what could have affected her abilities. So she dismissed the disturbing thought and concluded that there simply were not any youkai nearby.

"Do you sense any shards _now_, Kagome?" Inuyasha inquired for the hundredth time that day, pacing back and forth in irritation, while the other members of their small group sat on the ground, thoroughly exhausted.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, but there isn't anything." She replied quietly, very aware of the fact that reason the hanyou was quite upset was because it had been so long since they came across their last shard.

"This is not the first time that it has taken us a few weeks to find a new shard," Miroku remarked, while he made himself comfortable and placed his staff on the ground next to him.

Inuyasha shrugged and directed his gaze away from his travelling companions. For a moment he inhaled deeply, titling his head to one side. Then he focused his eyes on the hill in front of him and saw that his nose hadn't deceived him. Two human females were heading towards them and they seemed to be in quite a hurry. Although they were still far away, he could detect a hint of panic in their scent.

"We're getting company," he announced when he turned back to the group.

Sango jumped up quickly, taking her gigantic boomerang with her. "Youkai?" She demanded curtly.

Chuckling slightly, Inuyasha replied: "Hold your horses, Sango. I don't smell any youkai. There're just two human women who seem to be in some kind of trouble."

"Women in trouble?" Miroku repeated, sounding almost hopefully.

Shooting Miroku a warning glare, the taijya relaxed her battling stance slightly and moved to stand next to Inuyasha. Surveying the countryside before her, she too spotted the women.

"What makes you think they are in trouble? As far as I can see they are not being pursued." she asked the hanyou.

"It's their scent. They're reeking of fear."

By now Kagome had placed the sleeping Shippo on the ground next to her pack and she and Miroku had joined their companions. It took some time until the two women had finally reached them. As soon as they had a clear view on the group they paused and talked among themselves quietly, obviously unsure about how to proceed.

Before anyone could do anything else Kagome called out to them. "Konnichi wa! Please come closer, we won't hurt you. Maybe we can help you with your trouble?"

Her tone was very friendly and inviting, her expression sincere and open, leaving no doubt about her good intention. The women couldn't help but be intrigued instantly by her pleasant nature.

The last part of Kagome's speech earned her a glare from Inuyasha, but she ignored him in favor of the now approaching women. Both of them were about Kagome's age and very pretty. When they were directly in front of the group, the taller girl began to speak.

"Konnichi wa. My name is Kiku and this is my sister Ochima. Excuse me, but how can you know that we are indeed looking for help?"

Miroku spared Kagome the trouble of answering the question, as he spoke before she could have even opened her mouth.

"Pardon us, pretty ladies. You looked very troubled and in quite a hurry, so we were jumping to conclusions." He stated with a charming smile, before he continued. "You have so kindly graced us with your names, allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Miroku. These are my companions: Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Shippo and Kirara."

The two women glanced at each person introduced quickly, stopping to look at Inuyasha's ears curiously for a moment. Then they redirected their attention towards Miroku politely. When he was sure they were looking at him again, he continued speaking to them gently.

"So, pretty ladies, tell us what your problem is."

"Our village is threatened by a terrible bear. It kills people and attacks our houses, and no one in the village has been able to slay it. We believe it is youkai." Ochima, obviously the younger sister, blurted out in a distressed, squeaky voice. Immediately Kiku shot her a stern, dismayed look.

"So sorry, you must excuse the bluntness of my little sister, Miroku-sama. But we are both very worried for our people," she said, sounding sweet and gentle and quite upset.

"We could try to help you, if you want. I think we will be able to get rid of the youkai," Kagome offered warmly. The sympathy she felt towards the two girls was written all over her face.

"Is that so?" Inuyasha drawled coldly with his arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow slightly arched, reminding her awfully of Sesshoumaru for a moment. Shaking herself mentally she managed to glare at him in warning.

"Yes, that is so," she stated with an air of finality, daring him to say otherwise.

But before he could reply anything at all Miroku overruled him by saying: "Of course we will help you. How far is your village from here?"

"Thank you so much! I hate to inconvenience you and your companions, but our situation is hopeless and we need help desperately, I accept your offer on behalf of my father, who is the village's headman. I believe it is a walk of two hours back to our home." Kiku answered formally, sounding clearly relived.

"Then perhaps we should leave immediately, so that we will arrive there before nightfall," Miroku stated, looking towards his companions for their opinion.

"Agreed," Sango said. For her it was the most natural thing in the world to rid a human village of a demonic threat. Kagome just nodded, while Inuyasha settled with shrugging gloomily and murmured his ambiguous "Keh!"

"Alright, so it's decided," Miroku declared enthusiastically, "but before we leave I would like to ask you another question, Kiku-san."

"Of course."

For a moment he just gazed at her affectionately, taking in her beautiful features, before he took her hands into his own in a heartbreakingly romantic gesture and inquired hopefully: "Would you bear my child?"

Kiku blushed furiously, but before she could reply, Sango had smacked the monk hard on the back of his head, murmuring irritably about hentais and their obvious lack of tact. Inuyasha snickered, but the little tirade was completely lost on Kagome, who stood rigidly in the same spot as before, her face as white as a piece of chalk. She was hot and cold at the same time as Miroku's question echoed in her mind loudly.

_/ Would you bear my child - child - child…/_

All of sudden she felt weak and very sick. How could she have not thought about this earlier? _'Oh god, what if he got me pregnant?_' Her mind reeled with this new, horrible prospect and the thought alone made an intense feeling of fear and nausea tear through her guts. Panic welled up inside her like a black flood, drowning every other thought in its way. Kagome's vision went foggy and she didn't notice that her body was swaying, loosing balance slightly.

Her drastic change in scent didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha and so he was prepared to steady her staggering form just in time. His friends and the two sisters looked at the girl in his arms with concern and Inuyasha felt his own worry as he gazed at Kagome's suddenly pale features. Her eyes were closed and her breath came out in short pants.

"Kagome? Kagome, are you alright?" The hanyou whispered urgently.

Slowly the miko blinked and opened her eyes. Then she glanced at her surroundings.

"Inuyasha…yes, yes I'm fine…" she stammered weakly, taking in the concerned faces of her friends. Banning the feeling of dread and panic from her mind with a huge effort, she managed a small smile.

"Don't worry, I just felt a bit dizzy. My blood pressure just dropped all of a sudden, but it's probably nothing to worry about …" she added to sooth them, trailing off as the declaration earned her nothing but a few confused looks. Smiling again apologetically Kagome made an effort to stand on her own.

Knowing her strangeness and her special background, her companions were used to odd explanations and so they settled on accepting this one, too. Carefully, Inuyasha withdrew his arms from around her waist, ensuring that she wouldn't lose her balance again.

The journey to Kiku's village was surprisingly uneventful. Kagome was mostly absorbed in her own thoughts, but she learned among other things that Kiku and her sister had originally been sent to seek help from their liege lord, who lived in a bigger village about a two day walk away. Their meeting had been by sheer luck, and the sisters were very grateful that they could return to their home with help much earlier than expected. As the youkai posed a big threat to the village, the headman had sent his own daughters to inform their lord because he couldn't spare any men. Their worry hung in the air heavily and felt almost palpable to Kagome at times.

But mostly she walked silently and contemplated her own situation. There were days when her life was so clouded and the world got so dark, she couldn't tell night from day.

This was _definitely_ one of those days.

The chance that she might be pregnant with Sesshoumaru's child scared her to no end. First of all, independent of all other problems, she was too young to have a child. Alright, many girls her age had already had children, even in her time. But she had always wanted to go to university and, although her priorities had admittedly changed since she had first arrived in the feudal area, a child would swiftly bring an end to that particular hope and dream.

Secondly, Sesshoumaru was youkai and thirdly, she didn't love him one bit! She was in love with Inuyasha and there was probably no way in Hell she could communicate to him that she loved him, and only him, if she was pregnant with Sesshoumaru's child!

Kagome's thoughts were running in circles. Up to now, she couldn't muster the courage to tell anybody, especially Inuyasha, what had happened between herself and the demon lord. While the time passed she considered if it wouldn't be best to not tell Inuyasha at all. She knew that not telling him was dishonest and cowardly, and although she really despised her own weakness she couldn't bring herself to do it. Probably he would hate her for what she did and there was no way she could live with his hatred.

How would she go about it anyway? 'Gee, listen Inuyasha, I got this really horrible nightmare about some youkai ripping your heart out of your body and afterwards I was so terrified I slept with your brother just for sheer comfort. Can you please forgive me?'

No, there was no decent way of telling him. Maybe it was really best if he didn't know. It would do nothing but hurt him. And there was nothing in the world she wanted to do less than hurt him. Telling him would just serve to clear her conscience, nothing else.

Besides, they weren't even lovers, yet. Inuyasha had never told her that he loved her and maybe he didn't. Judging from his behaviour towards her, she could be sure that he cared for her deeply, but love? There was still Kikyou in the picture, and in the three years she knew Inuyasha, he hadn't been able to completely let go of his lost love.

Maybe, unconsciously, Inuyasha just felt drawn to her because she looked so much like Kikyou. Kagome had often wondered about that. Obviously she shared the other miko's soul – she was supposedly her reincarnation, after all. The thought that her soul didn't really belong to her, that she might be nothing but a copy of another person, unsettled her. It was highly disturbing. Since Kikyou was more or less alive again, she often felt like she was intruding on, no, _stealing_ someone else's life. At times she thought of herself as a fake, a person without her own life or her own history. Somehow she was Kikyou and a part of Kikyou was her.

And following this train of thought, it was also possible that she was only attracted to Inuyasha because Kikyou's soul had never stopped loving him.

But who was Kagome? She was a 17-year-old girl from the future, who was still living her own private fairytale. The girl who studied hard trying to graduate from high school to go to university, while also trying equally hard to restore a gem of unthinkable power, 500 years in the past, to prevent an evil hanyou from gaining said power. The girl who faced death on a regular basis and still struggled to complete her math homework. The girl who took a feudal youkai lord as her first lover, although her heart belonged to another. Who was she?

Obviously the situation was sufficiently complicated without having Sesshoumaru somewhere in the middle of this whole mess which was her so called love-life. And there was simply no way to imagine the trouble it would cause if she were, indeed, pregnant with his child.

It wouldn't improve her self-esteem, either.

Her future looked dull enough without him. There was always the chance that she would get killed in the process of restoring the Jewel of Four Souls. On the other hand, there was still the chance that they would rid the world of Naraku's disgusting presence and she would live to see the gem completed. But what would happen afterwards? Who would wish on it and what would that wish be?

Even if somebody had a wish selfless enough to make the jewel disappear, this would force her to make up her mind as to what she actually wanted to do with her future. Stay here, or go back? Certainly, life in the feudal area was less complicated than modern life, but it was also living in extremes. Sometimes she was completely and utterly happy, at other times she was scared witless and on some days her existence was so miserable that she thought she would never laugh again.

Although a lot of books and movies suggested otherwise, living in the past was hardly as romantic as many people imagined. It was really dirty and many things a modern girl took for granted were simply missing. Diseases were much more widespread than in her time and people died because of the simplest infections. People were enslaved to feudal lords and threatened by violent youkai.

Did she want to live in such a place for the rest of her life?

Would Inuyasha want her to stay anyway? And even if he wished to be with her, would she _really_ want to stay? Would she be willing to sacrifice all the plans she had, everything she had dreamed of in her normal life to be with him? The finality of this decision frightened her. Of course, the notion of boyfriends and being together without marriage or another form of binding was quite uncommon in the feudal area. But she wasn't sure if she could decide with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life at the tender age of 17.

Kagome's musings went on and on without any satisfying result. At the moment it was impossible for her to know whether she was pregnant or not and so she simply had to wait until she would have her next period, or not. The thought sent a shiver down her spine and suddenly she bumped into something solid, which turned out to be Inuyasha's back.

"Watch where you're going and stop daydreaming! We're almost there!" The hanyou exclaimed grumpily.

"Sorry," Kagome mumbled, a little bit embarrassed by her lack of attention.

Glancing at her surroundings, she saw that they were, indeed, heading straight towards the village. She could see a few houses in the twilight and forced herself to concentrate on what was going on around her. At the moment, Kiku was offering the group to stay at her family's house for the night and Miroku and Sango, who were walking next to her, accepted gladly. Shippo was currently sitting on Miroku's shoulder, listening intensely. He had deserted Kagome earlier during the trip, exclaiming that she was no fun at all today.

"Will there be dinner at your house, Kiku-san?" The little fox inquired hopefully, rubbing his tummy for emphasise.

Kiku giggled girlishly at his attics and assured him that there would be plenty of food. At first the sisters had been reluctant to associate with a youkai, but Shippo being his cute self had convinced them in less than an hour that not all youkai were evil.

Suddenly a terror-filled scream split the air, followed be other random noises from the village. Men swarmed from the houses, armed with spears or just simple sticks, running towards the opposite end of the village.

"It's back! We must hurry!" Kiku shrieked in terror, pulling her trembling little sister into a tight embrace.

"Stay here with your sister, we will handle this," Inuyasha ordered and broke into a run. Miroku left Shippo with the two women and then he and the others followed.

"This has to be a really powerful youkai, I can feel a tremendous amount of jyaki," Miroku explained while running.

"Do you sense any jewel shards, Kagome?" Sango asked when they reached the first houses.

"No, I don't." Kagome replied, panting slightly. Strangely enough, she didn't even sense the jyaki Miroku had mentioned. But there was no time to worry about things like that. They could hear more screams and yells as they progressed through the village. People were passing them, fleeing in blind panic, some of them badly injured. A group of men were on their way to the still invisible battlefield. Armed with only a few spears, they appeared very frightened, yet determined to protect their people and their homes. Above all these human noises and the clattering of metal Kagome heard the enraged roaring of the bear youkai.

Turning another corner she could suddenly see the beast. It was huge, with a black pelt and fiery red eyes. Seemingly effortlessly, its gigantic paws were slapping away the villagers like plastic dolls.

Inuyasha didn't seem to be impressed at all. Wasting no time he drew Tessaiga and ran into battle. When the beast noticed him, it bared its fangs dangerously at the rapidly approaching hanyou. Before Inuyasha could launch an attack he was hit by a powerful, clawed paw and thrown through the air, his impromptu flight stopped with a sickening crunch as he hit a nearby tree.

Sango wasn't any more successful with her own attack. Her boomerang hit the bear's shoulder, but obviously didn't hurt it very much. It let out an annoyed roar, turned and hit the flying Kirara with much more speed than what could be expected from such a plump looking youkai. Despite the hard blow, Kirara managed to land safely nearby, but wasn't in a condition to continue the battle.

"Kagome, are you sure that this youkai doesn't have a jewel shard?" Miroku, who was still standing next to her, inquired after checking that Sango hadn't been harmed. The villagers were retreating slowly, understanding that it would be better to leave the battle to these strangers who had obviously come to assist them.

"Yes, pretty sure. I'm not sensing any." she said, watching worriedly as Inuyasha started another attack and got knocked to the ground after he managed to slice the bear's upper torso.

Somehow it seemed to know how to avoid the potentially fatal wind scar attack.

"But it is extremely powerful, Miroku, we have to think of something quickly," she added.

"Yes. Listen Kagome, I'll try to make it immobile with my spells and as soon as the way is clear you'll shoot a series of purifying arrows. That should be sufficient," Miroku suggested.

"Alright, go ahead. Hurry!" Kagome called after Miroku, while he approached the beast carefully.

Inuyasha, although unknowingly, did quite a good job distracting the huge bear. After landing a few hard blows, which obviously didn't weaken the youkai at all, he got thrown into another tree. But Miroku finally manage to subdue the youkai with his spells. It roared and howled in rage, but was otherwise unable to move.

"Now, Kagome! I won't be able to contain it much longer!" He yelled towards the young miko.

In the moment that Kagome drew an arrow and took aim she noticed that something wasn't quite right with her ki. Nevertheless, she concentrated hard to focus her power and let the arrow fly. It hit the bear well enough, but it missed the usual pinkish glow and judging from the non-existent effect it had on the youkai, contained no purifying energy at all. Cursing under her breath she nocked another arrow onto her bow, concentrating even harder on her miko energy this time. But it was as if her body were empty, her power gone, and there was simply nothing she could push forth into the arrow.

This time she knew that it wouldn't work before the arrow even reached its target.

With a deafening roar the youkai broke free from Miroku's spell, lunging at the drained monk. Inuyasha managed just in time to push him away from the beast's paws to avoid a serious injury. Stumbling backwards, the weakened monk was caught by Sango and dragged away from the battle scene. Inuyasha fought hard, but the beast's sheer strength was terrifying. None of the blows the hanyou landed hurt the youkai seriously and although it was bleeding from several injuries, its power didn't fail it.

Kagome was frantic. There had to be something she could do. But she felt helpless without her miko energy. What had happened to her powers anyway? But most importantly, somehow she had to help Inuyasha!

Suddenly she detected the pinkish glow of a purifying arrow as it passed her with enormous speed. The arrow hit its target well and the youkai howled in agony.

"Inuyasha! There are two jewel shards in its right paw! Be quick about it!" She heard an unmistakably familiar voice yell over the battlefield.

Mesmerized, Kagome turned around and there she was: Standing on the roof of a nearby house, she looked like an apparition, beautiful and unreachable. She held her bow upright, another arrow already nocked and ready to fire. Her long black tresses were swaying in the breeze, while she watched the battle with what seemed like otherworldly indifference.

Only when Kagome heard the dying bear's last growl did she manage to tear her eyes away from the other girl, who stood still rigidly on the roof as an alabaster statue. Inuyasha had obviously sliced off the youkai's paw and afterwards killed it with Sango's help.

Two tainted shards of the jewel lay on the dark ground. But Kagome hadn't seen them, hadn't felt them, didn't even feel them _now_. She was horrified. If Kikyou hadn't shown up, then her friends would have gotten hurt, possibly even _killed…_because of her failure. She should have taken her own concerns more seriously. Deep inside her she had felt that something wasn't quite right with her miko powers.

And without those powers she was useless.

Inuyasha's voice brought her out of her thoughts. He was coming towards her quickly, but ignored her completely in favor of her doppelganger, who jumped gracefully off the roof.

"Kikyou," he panted in the special tone that was reserved for her only. But as always when he met her, he was at a loss for words. So it took him a while to figure out what to stay. He was standing directly in front of Kikyou, glancing down on her with hidden tenderness. When she returned his look her eyes were no longer cold and full of hatred, but shining with a certain warmth. Their long hair was mingling in the stiffening breeze and they appeared as if they were desperate to touch each other, but cruelly separated by an invisible barrier

Kagome's heart broke, for about the hundredth time since she had first met Inuyasha. At some point she had thought she would get used to seeing them together, had even decided to love him although he couldn't make up his mind. But it still hurt, after three years it still hurt like Hell. Perhaps she didn't deserve any better. After all, she had betrayed him in the worst way possible. Still, she couldn't suppress the tears which were threatening to well up in her eyes.

"Thank you for your help," the hanyou mumbled finally.

Kikyou's pretty face didn't show any emotion, but her voice was achingly sweet. "You are welcome, Inuyasha. I would have had to be blind not to see these shards, so it was no trouble at all," she replied, glancing quickly at the younger miko.

And Kagome wanted to fade away.

_oooOoooOooo_

Sesshoumaru strode down the dimly lit corridor towards his chambers. His day had been troubled and his mood was foul. It was late in the evening and the only light emerged from a few small oil lamps on the walls. Sliding the shoji-screen door open he entered his room quietly. Semidarkness surrounded him as he crossed the room at a measured pace. Absentmindedly he began to untie his sash and shrugged off his haori in an indifferently graceful motion. Placing the silken garment on a wooden chest, the rest of his clothing followed quickly.

If it hadn't been for a small movement on his futon in the shadows and the smell of expectation and female arousal in the air, he would have forgotten that he had ordered her to wait for him tonight. His first thought was to send her away, but then again he wanted nothing more than a sound sleep, and to banish the dreams that kept him from it.

Sesshoumaru stepped to his bedding and surveyed the female youkai, whose body was splayed across his sheets and cushions. With long, wavy red hair and piercing green eyes, her alabaster skin and her voluptuous curves being sheer perfection, she was the epitome of beauty.

As the temptress gave him a wicked, "Come hither" smile, Sesshoumaru smirked. Oh, he would sleep soundly this night, indeed.

Eventually.

_oooOoooOooo_

Sesshoumaru slid the door behind shut behind him forcefully, taking out his irritation on the castle walls even as he finished shrugging into a yukata.

Oh yes, the _female_ was quite sated. He could already hear her soft snores, and resisted the urge to turn around and evict her from his futon. But was he?

Tying the simple robe around his waist, he stalked down the long corridors. The answer, of course, was a resounding "No." His mood hadn't improved _at all_, and although the encounter should have been sufficient, he hardly felt satisfied. After some time his thoughts involuntarily returned to the human miko. Why did she seem to be so different from everything he knew? Thinking about her confused and annoyed him. And he despised confusion. But apparently he was unable to grasp what made her so special. The only explanation was that his perception of her had been altered by this strange youkai-miko connection. It was unfortunate that honor forbade simply getting rid of her. The demon lord owed her a life and until he repaid this debt, he couldn't even regard her as an enemy.

Leaving the castle he walked through the large garden towards the bath house. Entering the dark building, he lit a small lamp. Although he didn't need the light, his sight hardly being affected by the dark, it was an odd habit he kept. The bathhouse was built with great skill, as the two large basins were fed by a natural hot spring that provided fresh and hot water at all times of the day.

Shrugging out of the plain robe, Sesshoumaru cleaned himself briefly before he slid into the smaller of the two basins, relaxing his tense body. But not even a bath brought the desired result and after almost half an hour of soaking in the hot water he still felt restless.

He dried himself off quickly and took a fresh robe from one of the chests. After dressing himself he extinguished the lamp and left the bathhouse. A tough, cold breeze was tugging at his wet hair, cooling his body rapidly. But he didn't care as he strolled back to the castle. The taiyoukai paused at an old tree near the small pond. Deciding that spending a sleepless night out here wouldn't be nearly as dull as staying inside his chambers, he eventually decided to sit down on the grass.

The castle's dark silhouette was outlined by the sparse moonlight. Originally, it had been much bigger, but after his father's death two wings had been destroyed by intruders. When he himself had finally returned to the home of his ancestors, he hadn't bothered to have them rebuilt. The ruins were still there and perhaps he would have them rebuilt someday in the future.

The pond's dark, normally smooth surface was unruly because of the wind. When he had been younger he had liked this place very much. Its atmosphere had been silent and calming. But now it was tainted by memory, words spoken in anger and hatred, never knowing that they were the last to be said ever again.

_Sesshoumaru slumped heavily down on the ground next to the pond. He was so mad that he thought for a moment he might suffocate from his anger. Although his face showed none of his emotions, every living being near him could feel the pure fury radiating off him in waves. Gradually, he managed to calm the storm that was raging inside him and the color of his eyes shifted back from crimson to gold._

_After some more time of silently raging against the impossible decision that had just been made known to him, he suddenly felt the approach of the one being he really didn't want to talk to at the moment. His posture went even more rigid as the familiar aura came to a stop somewhere behind him. He didn't turn._

"_Sesshoumaru." The voice sounded friendly, but slightly exhausted._

"_Hai, my lord?" He replied tersely, still not turning towards the other demon. In spite of his anger, he managed to keep his voice indifferent, and he sounded more bored than angry._

"_I wish you wouldn't call me that. At least, not when we are alone." _

"_As you wish, Father," Sesshoumaru bit out defiantly, no longer able to hold his violent emotions completely at bay. _

"_Why do you resent my choice of taking Izayoi as my new mate so much?" The calm, serious question made something in Sesshoumaru burst._

"_Because she is ningen. A simple, pathetic, stinking human woman. She is weak and her pup will be weak and they will make you weak and vulnerable, too." Sesshoumaru stated cruelly, his voice dripping with venom._

_His father took a deep, calming breath, obviously fighting his own rage at his son's abuse of Izayoi. Then he replied calmly: _

"_Perhaps you are right, Sesshoumaru. But, that is why you are my appointed heir."_

_Sesshoumaru shook his head impatiently, now turning towards his father._

"_I do not understand you! What do you want with that human wench?" He demanded harshly, almost hiding his own desperation._

"_You will not understand, I'm afraid. But I hope for you that you will one day. She lacks physical strength, but that is not all that is important. She is definitely weaker than the weakest of our kind, and yet, she can still go where even I would stumble."_

_For a moment Sesshoumaru contemplated the cryptic answer. There was no truth in these hollow words, all remained the same. This was insanity!_

"_But there is nothing special about her, I've just seen her. This wench is as dull as all the other humans!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed heatedly._

"_Blindness is a state of mind, my son. Try to be not so ignorant!" _

_oooOoooOooo_

_A/N: Here you go! Another chapter finished. I apologize for being a bit late again, but normal life has been catching up with me recently._

_Actually, the uncensored version of this chapter contains two lemons. So if you are of any age and interested in reading them, you can find the uncensored story at the "A Single Spark" archive._

_I want to thank all the people who encouraged me to go on with the story and I apologize for not managing to reply to all reviews. I'll try to do better this time, so keep them coming ;-)!_

_Special thanks go to my wonderful beta reader M'eyari, who did a perfect job in editing and censoring this chapter, and to Schnuffi, without whom I wouldn't have been able to complete it. What would I do without you girls?_


	8. Magic

_A/N:_ _So, uhm, finally I'm back, I guess. And I'm really sorry for the long wait. But the story isn't abandoned and I want to thank all of you who didn't give up on me. Your encouragement really helped a lot. _

_Special thanks go to Noacat for spontaneously agreeing to beta this chapter and doing a really good job. _

Chapter 8: Magic

"I really do not know what is wrong with ye, child," Kaede said in her slightly hoarse voice, while mixing some herbs in a small bowl.

Kagome just shrugged and looked at the old miko miserably. For the past two days Kaede had examined her closely to find the cause of her current condition, but to no avail. There seemed to be no explanation as to why she had lost her powers all of sudden. Not only herself but also her friends were quite upset because of this new development. Without her ability to sense jewel shards, it would be very hard if not downright impossible to find any of them.

Inuyasha had been very secretive during the whole time. His encounter with Kikyo and Kagome's inability to detect Shikon shards had affected him probably more than he was willing to admit.

Kagome hated to fail him. Still, she had done so on more than one occasion recently. She had promised to be always by his side and devote all her power to his fight. But what if she had no powers left? She hadn't ever considered that. Three days ago, she hadn't been able to help him at all. And if it hadn't been for Kikyo saving the day, Inuyasha and her friends might have gotten severely injured or worse.

There was not much left she could actually do for Inuyasha. Perhaps she hadn't even the right to stay with him any longer. What would he do if he found out about her and Sesshoumaru anyway? Probably he wouldn't cast her a second glance, now that she had proven herself to be completely worthless.

No, she told herself, Inuyasha wasn't like that. If nothing else, he still was her friend. A real friend and he wouldn't simply forsake her because she was no longer able to serve a certain purpose. He did see more in her than a shard detector.

By now Kagome was positive that life was unfair. So many bad things shouldn't happen to one person in such a short time, first the whole Sesshoumaru-disaster, and then the sudden loss of her powers. Alright, the first issue was her own fault. But she was still unable to completely understand what had gotten into her to do such a thing, let alone comprehend what had been his motivations to bed a mere human.

The only good thing was that she had finally gotten her period. She had definitely never been so happy to have heavy cramps than yesterday morning when it had started. Shippo and Inuyasha had been more than baffled to see her writhing on her futon in pain with a happy smile on her face. After she had told them that she was simply in a good mood they had given up on her and left her to the "girl's stuff". Without complaining, she had spent half of the day on her futon in a lot of pain, chanting happily "not pregnant, not pregnant" in her mind all the time. Later that day Kaede had come and given her a potion to relive the pain, and almost instantly she had felt better. At least one potential problem had solved itself.

"Is there really nothing we can do about it?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm afraid, no. All ye can do is wait, child. Perhaps it will end as abruptly as it began," Kaede replied, clearly worried because of Kagome's condition.

Sighing heavily, Kagome continued to stare into the empty room. There simply had to be a way to regain her powers. But how? Who was left to ask for advice if Kaede failed to know the answer?

"What is bothering ye, Kagome? Ye have been so distant and preoccupied with your thoughts since you have arrived. Is it the loss of your powers that disturbs ye so much?"

Kagome paled a little as she was brought out of her reverie abruptly. After all the time it was still disturbing how easily Kaede saw through her. Every nuance of her voice, the tiniest tilt of her head; the older miko could read these things like other people read words. Once again she wondered if this was due to Kaede's enormous experience and knowledge or rather due to the fact that she resembled her dead sister so much. Although she had never let Kagome feel it, she simply had to remind Kaede of Kikyo a lot.

But should she tell Kaede her secret? Would the old miko understand? Although there really wasn't much to understand, Kagome admitted silently, this mess just kind of happened.

"No, it's not just that. I've no idea what's wrong with me, but recently I've been doing the oddest things and I'm really afraid of Inuyasha and the others hating me for it," Kagome replied dutifully, having slight difficulties in ordering her confused thoughts.

Slowly, Kaede turned round and gave the flustered girl an understanding look.

"If this is about Lord Sesshoumaru, ye don't have to worry. It was the right thing to do," she said warmly.

"What!" Kagome blurted out before she was able to stop herself. Was Kaede just telling her that it was fine to sleep with the youkai lord? Digging her nails into her flat palm she tried desperately to determine whether she was dreaming or not. But although it felt rather painful she didn't wake up nor did Kaede or any of her surroundings vanish.

"Miroku told me about the whole thing yesterday. I know that Sesshoumaru is evil and that Inuyasha despises him, but still it was right to save his life. Your heart is in the right place, child, probably there is no other person as kind and selfless as you."

Kagome felt like crying. Again. Kaede didn't know what she had really done and was speaking and thinking so highly of her when she really didn't deserve it.

"Here Kagome, these are fresh herbs for Inuyasha's wound. Go and change his bandages, please," Kaede instructed her warmly, sensing that the girl needed some distraction

Kagome nodded, took the basket with herbs and fled the hut quickly, glad to escape the situation. There was no person more horrible than herself and still nobody seemed to notice. Guilt was a terrible feeling on its own, but combined with the fear of being found out was almost impossible to bear. She would be found out sooner or later, of that she was sure. When she had been a small child her mother used to tell her that there was no point in lying as no lie could withstand the truth forever. Believing in her mother's words, Kagome had always been as truthful as possible, but now, how could she tell the truth to anyone?

After some searching, she saw Inuyasha sitting on a rock in the outskirts of the village.

"Inuyasha!" she called while she was approaching him quickly, happy to have found him finally.

The hanyou gazed in her general direction gloomily before he continued staring at a patch of grass in front of him. When Kagome reached him she knelt down next to him to look into his face.

"I've brought fresh herbs to change your bandages," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

"I'm not that badly injured. It isn't necessary to change my bandages hourly," he replied grumpily, still not really looking at her.

Sighing softly, she replied, "Inuyasha, you know that it is necessary to change bandages once a day and these herbs will make it heal faster. What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he snapped impatiently.

But Kagome knew him well enough by now to not believe a single word he said when he was in one of those moods. Besides, she was pretty sure what it was that bothered him and no matter how much she hated to approach the subject, it had to be done eventually.

"It is because of me losing my powers, isn't it?" she stated quietly.

Raising his head slowly, he gazed at her confusedly. "Huh?" he said, not really knowing what she was getting at. Then he registered the worry and the tension in her face and his expression softened.

"Oh, that… What did Kaede say anyway? Can she do anything about it?" he asked.

Sighing this time more deeply, the girl replied, "No, unfortunately she has no clue what's wrong with me. She said I simply had to wait and hope that it wore off on its own." Even to her own ears she sounded unhappy and hopeless.

"I see," Inuyasha said, trying to sound neutral as he didn't want to bother her any further. Yes, it was annoying that she couldn't sense the shards anymore, but as her misery was practically oozing off her body, he couldn't bring himself to make her feel worse.

"Look Inuyasha, I'm really sorry about this and I really don't want to disappoint you. I know I'm not much use without my miko abilities and it will be very hard to find any jewel shards without me sensing them. But I'll really try as hard as I can to regain my powers quickly."

Ah, she was so sweet, so pure. Inuyasha doubted there ever was a moment in which she solely thought about herself. But she wouldn't need to worry that much. Although the matter was really, really annoying, they would somehow manage to find a few shards until her powers returned. Obviously she thought that he was mad at her, but why should he be? It wasn't her fault after all. And besides, he could never be really mad at her for anything. She was the one person he really trusted, the one that would never betray him.

But everything was so complicated since Kikyo's return. Although he liked Kagome a lot, how could he ever forget Kikyo? He was bound to her by more than the promise he had made so long ago. Perfect, beautiful, fierce and exciting Kikyo. Once upon a time he had fallen for her so completely. He had never thought it possible to surrender one's heart, body and soul so entirely to another person. So entirely that even after such a long time, after hatred, betrayal and death, he had been unable to regain all of it…

A soft tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts abruptly and he suddenly gazed into Kagome's worried, azure eyes. So much like Kikyo's…

Shaking his head quickly, he smirked at her and said, "Hey, we will manage alright."

He was unable to comfort her as much as she wished he would, she still understood that he was neither mad at her nor did he want to dump her because she was useless.

A beautiful smile spread over the girl's face slowly and Inuyasha could feel the sheer warmth of it seeping through his bones. This was when she was really pretty, with a happy smile plastered on her face. It had taken him an eternity to figure it out, but it was as simple as that, Kagome had the heart and Kikyo, Kikyo had the rest.

He couldn't help giving her an answering smile.

"Are you dressing my injuries now, or have you just come to get on my nerves?" he sapped at her playfully.

"If you hadn't made such a fuss before, I would be done by now. Get undressed already," she replied teasingly, but blushed immediately as she became aware what her words might imply.

Inuyasha stared at her in shock for a moment, before he shook his head and blushed too. He quickly bent down to open the ties of his haori to let her tend to the gash on his back. Moving to sit behind him, Kagome went to her task immediately, still far too embarrassed to say anything else. She un-wrapped the bandages deftly, trying to touch him as little as possible. Although it hurt her, she knew that after all this time he still was not really comfortable with her touching him more than necessary. Light, safe touches were alright, but nothing that was slightly more intimate.

The large gash on his back was already halfway closed. Once again she marvelled at the abilities of youkai healing. Carefully she put the fresh herbs on the wound and bandaged him with new strips of cloth.

"Two more days and you'll be as good as new," she announced and got up.

"That's about time. We really should get going," Inuyasha declared in his usual, gruff tone.

"You're impossible! We all needed a bit of a break," she reprimanded him gently before continuing, "I'll bring those back to Kaede. See you later."

"All right."

Heading back towards the village, Kagome pondered about Inuyasha's strange behaviour. Something was bothering him that much she could tell. But if it wasn't about the loss of her powers, what was it then? He had looked almost miserable when she had first joined him. What else could disturb him so much?

_Kikyo_.

The name shot over her awareness like one of her arrows, burning everything in its way. Although she knew she had no right to feel this way, she couldn't help the jealousy seeping through her. Slowly, it flowed through her veins, hot and dark, but before she was consumed by the thought, she pushed it away. How could she dare to feel that way? After all that had happened…

Besides, she could never know if Inuyasha had really been thinking about Kikyo. There were so many things he could be worrying about and it was absolutely useless to waste her energy brooding about what Inuyasha was thinking.

But when she reached Kaede's hut her mood was foul. Fortunately, Kaede assigned her some simple chores like chopping herbs and roots for different medicines that didn't need much attention. There was hardly any talk between the two miko and Kagome was once more absorbed in thought. Although her mind was circling around the same topic for hours, she neither managed to find a solution nor did she feel better at all and her daydreaming earned her nothing but two nasty cuts on her index finger.

Suddenly the door was slid open forcefully and Shippo bounced into the room, interrupting her chain of thought efficiently. The little fox was practically glowing with excitement.

"Kagome, can you come play with me? I've just discovered the best place to play hide and seek! Pretty please," he asked sweetly.

Kagome directed a questioning gaze at the older miko. Smiling first at Shippo and than at Kagome, Kaede nodded slowly.

"It's alright, child. Just go with him, there's not much left to do anyway," she said, quickly turning back to the bubbling potion in front of her.

"Yay!" Shippo squealed happily. "Come on, Kagome, hurry up!" Then he had run from the room as swiftly as he had entered. Groaning slightly, Kagome got up and managed to follow him out of the hut shakily.

"Hey you little cheater, wait for me!" She called after the running kitsune, "That's no fair!"

Then she broke into a run, chasing Shippo into the forest.

The little fox had been right. He had discovered a perfect place to play in. It was a large clearing that had plenty of places to hide in. The game went on for about an hour and Kagome enjoyed herself immensely. Probably she really shouldn't enjoy this so much as she was becoming way too old for such childish games. Still she couldn't help but laugh happily along with Shippo as they played on this warm autumn afternoon. Kagome got so absorbed in their game which eventually led to a merciless chase, that she completely forgot about all her troubles.

During all their play her senses had been numb. There was nothing she had sensed at all, no powerful aura, no youki and no shards of the Shikon no Tama. But then, suddenly, when Shippo had just jumped at her in attempt to wrestle her to the ground, she felt it. All her motions froze in mid air and she stiffened. There was no doubt, her whole body was humming and tingling. She could feel his approach like fire in her blood.

Noticing her sudden change, Shippo lay still on top of her and shot her a worried glance.

"What is it Kagome? Do you sense anything?" He whispered quietly.

Sitting up quickly, Kagome pushed the kitsune in her lap and looked at him seriously.

"I want you to go back to the village and wait there for me. Can you do that?" She asked him with a fake smile.

"Why are you not coming with me and shouldn't I get Inuyasha, or something?" He protested in the same quite voice which she had just used to instruct him. Shippo knew this tone very well. Usually it meant either business or trouble, sometimes even both.

"No, I'll be fine. Just go and wait for me. And think up a new game for me while I'm gone," she said, trying to sound cheerful, and pushed him of her lap gently.

Eyeing her suspiciously for a moment Shippo scented the air. But he couldn't sense anything dangerous. Still, there was this nagging little feeling in his stomach that something wasn't quite right.

"Um, are you sure?" He questioned, wanting to know.

"Yes, of course. It won't take me long, promise," she replied with an impatient sigh, scanning the surrounding area out of the corner of her eyes.

Shrugging, Shippo gave her a short wave and hurried off towards the village. Kagome watched him leave and was very relieved. She couldn't live with the thought of bringing him into danger if she could avoid it.

But the feeling of relief vanished quickly when the tingling sensation all over her body started to become more prominent each second. Fear slowly crept up her spine and she shivered involuntarily when she thought about what the reason for his coming might be.

Then she saw him. He was emerging from the tree line carelessly, his silver tresses moving in the gentle breeze. The first thing she noticed about him was, oddly enough, that he wore a different kind of armour. Obviously his former one had gotten too damaged in his last battle to be repaired. The new one was more form fitting and resembled the armours worn by human samurai of that time.

Kagome watched him closely, hypnotised by his appearance and the way he moved. It had only been two weeks since she had last seen him, but it seemed as if she had already forgotten what a striking creature he was. Now that she thought about it, it was probably an odd thing to describe a guy as being beautiful. Good-looking or handsome, yes, but beautiful? Still, in Sesshoumaru's case there was hardly another word to describe him. Beautiful. Perfect.

His unhurried movements were graceful and fluid as he strolled over the meadow with the air of a sated predator after a successful hunt. She stared at him completely transfixed, unable to think about anything but the inhuman way he moved without seemingly any effort at all. When he came closer she could see the muscles of his legs move under the thin silk of his pants.

The thought of flight didn't even cross her mind.

He stopped a few paces away from Kagome, his cold gaze never leaving her face. Like a mouse hypnotised by a snake's unwavering stare, she just stood there, looking back at him, her mind completely blank. Then Sesshoumaru spoke and his smooth, cold voice sent a tremor through her body.

"Miko," he said, pausing slightly before continuing, "I suppose you know why I have sought you out." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Obviously her ability to think clearly had returned with hearing his voice as a thousand things rushed through Kagome's head at once. The first thing that came to her mind was that he had finally decided to kill her and had come to do just that. But if that was what he wanted he could already have done it. _'Probably he enjoys playing with his prey…'_ she mused.

"N-no," she stammered, for the lack of anything better to say.

The youkai's eyes narrowed a fraction as he inquired coldly, "So, I gather, you have not noticed that you have lost your holy powers?"

Kagome's heart stopped a beat in shock, while her brain slowly tried to get used to the idea of Sesshoumaru knowing that she was absolutely defenceless and possibly really intended to end her miserable existence for good.

"How can you know that?" She demanded in a rush, unable to keep a slight tremor out of her voice.

If the matter wasn't so serious and annoying, Sesshoumaru would have enjoyed playing with the little priestess immensely. Even if she had made any real effort to hide her fear, he still would have been able to smell it. At least, it was, to some extent, quite satisfying that he hadn't lost his touch after all. But as he wasn't in any mood for games, he decided to get this over with quickly. The sooner he had collected the unnerving human, the sooner he could return to his home and focus his attention on more important matters.

"I know this because we both suffer from the effects of a magical connection that was formed between the two of us during our encounter in the woods." There, he had said it, and it hadn't sounded as ridiculous as he had thought it might.

Kagome gapped at him for a moment. What he had just said didn't make any sense to her. What the hell was he talking about?

"What…How…What connection?" She stammered uncertainly, still trying not to appear as a complete idiot in front of him. _'What are you trying to prove anyway? He probably knows more about you than any other person,'_ she scolded herself mentally. And it definitely wasn't the first and obviously wouldn't be the last time that she had embarrassed herself in his presence. If he wouldn't kill her now, that was.

Sesshoumaru gave his head a sharp tilt and this was the only visible sign that her questioning him annoyed him. Especially because he himself was still searching for most of the answers. Ignorance was a curse and a weakness.

"A connection that disables you to use your powers except when you are in my presence," he clarified, congratulating himself silently for his phrasing and even speech.

Thinking about this for a moment, Kagome noticed that, indeed, her ability to summon her holy powers had miraculously returned. But her happiness was very short lived, as the whole meaning of his words penetrated her consciousness. _'Only in his presence? Shit, that'll be my ruin!'_ She thought desperately, hating her messy life even more than a few minutes ago. Probably it was, in fact, true that fate punished you more or less quickly for your wrongdoings.

"F-for how long will this last?" She asked him, sounding just as desperate as she felt.

"There is no fixed timeframe," he repeated Bokusenou's words evenly.

Kagome was horrified and it showed on her face clearly. "You mean it could last for two more days or two more years?" She asked incredulously.

Sesshoumaru nodded gravely. The prospect of being tied to the miko for the next few years was really not too appealing. But despite this he was sure he should be repulsed by her human nature, yet he felt drawn to her more than ever. Blaming it on this cursed magical bond, he tried to redirect his attention to the problems at hand.

Kagome was at a loss. She really had thought her situation couldn't get worse, but obviously she was always wrong about such things. What would happen now? She was dependent on Sesshoumaru…of all people! Without her ability to sense shards…they all were. How could she explain this to her friends? To Inuyasha? The thought alone was enough to make her stomach twist sickly.

Then she was struck by another thought. In a flash of boldness she inquired, "Wait, you've just said that we both suffered from this thing? So, you can't use your powers either, can you?"

Sesshoumaru groaned mentally. He really had hoped to avoid this question completely. But obviously the little human wasn't as dumb as he had thought. Really, after all, he should have foreseen that she would finally come up with this.

"Yes, I can. At least most of them as only the magical component of my abilities are affected," he clarified coolly.

Kagome gazed at his face briefly before lowering her eyes again. A strand of silver hair had fallen into his face and for a moment she had been very tempted to brush it back behind his ear. She had had to avert her eyes to keep herself from doing just that.

"I see. So, what will we do now?" She questioned uncertainly, sounding even to herself very far away. She was still not looking at the demon in front of her.

The youkai lord gazed at her down cast face in bewilderment. What was it that made this human girl so very tempting? If he extended his arm, he could touch her without any real effort, and in this moment the prospect was almost too alluring. Her lightly tanned skin would feel soft under his fingers when he traced her cheek bone down her jaw towards her neck…

Shaking himself mentally, Sesshoumaru finally regained control over his body and mind and was able to refocus his attention towards the conversation at hand. Yes, she had just asked him a question, but what had it been? Although he could easily remember the way her full lips had moved while she had spoken, he couldn't for the world figure out what exactly she had said.

His silence caused her to raise her head and take a quick glance at him. But she was unable to tear her eyes away from his mesmerizing ones, once she had risked a look at them. They stared at each other mutely for a while until Sesshoumaru, accidentally, gave the right answer to the unknown question.

"You will stay with me for as long as it takes for this bond to fade," he stated with finality, as it was really time to end this ridiculous conversation.

Kagome blinked in surprise, but was still unable to look away. She felt more drawn to him than on that one fateful night. Something drew her soul, calling her to him with a pull almost impossible to deny. Why was this happening? Was this another side effect of his so called bond?

"That's impossible," she replied breathlessly, her lips staying slightly parted even when she had ceased to speak.

Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow, never breaking their stare, "Oh, and why is that?" he demanded, his voice sounding a bit huskier than normal.

"B-because…" she murmured and, without really wanting to, took a tentative step towards him, then another one which left them almost brushing against each other, "because I have obligations."

Gazing at her quizzically, Sesshoumaru waited patiently until her words had penetrated his suddenly foggy brain. Her being so close to him distracted him much more than he could ever have imagined and his normally sharp mind was reduced to a swirling chaotic mass of different thoughts and feelings.

Then, before he had had enough time to come up with a suitable answer, the girl reached out and tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his left ear. Her fingers brushed against the tip of his ear softly and he involuntarily shuddered at the contact as a spark of lightening shot through his body that was as intense as it had been unexpected. He could feel the soft jerk of her fingers, when she obviously experienced the same sensation. Smiling shyly, she let her small hand linger on his cheek in a chaste caress before she pulled it away slowly.

Kagome was beyond reason, beyond thinking. Longing welled up inside her like a tidal wave, swamping all resistance aside_. Touch him_… And that was what she did. His hair felt as soft as silk and his skin was smooth and heated. Just like she remembered it to be.

There was no reasonable explanation for what his presence alone was doing to her befuddled brain. There was no way of denying it either, she wanted, wanted with all her being, with every fibre of her trembling body. The want she experienced was almost at the point of pain and the thing she wanted so much that it nearly hurt was most likely him. The one she had sworn never to touch again. The insane intensity of it all was simply too much for Kagome and she reeled.

When Sesshoumaru caught her wrist in mind-air and pulled her body flush against his own, it had been another reaction on pure impulse. For a moment he gazed into her sapphire eyes to find the secret source of the odd power she held over his person. But there was nothing except the happy bewilderment that she probably saw in his own eyes too.

"We can't do that," she protested feebly and the rapidly fading, reasonable part of his mind agreed wholeheartedly.

"No, we can not," he echoed solemnly while he wrapped his other arm round her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. Her heady scent was enticing and his body bent of his own free will so he could lower his head to the crook of her neck to smell it more intensely.

Kagome gasped. When he touched her she felt like nothing he could ever do would drive her away. In this moment he was all she had ever wanted, would ever want. Feeling his warm breath ghost over the tender skin of her neck, she closed her eyes in bliss and contentment. And his touches took her to places she had never been before. It felt like flying, like falling without ever hitting the ground. Wrapping her arms round his neck, she clung to him like somebody drowning clings to a piece of wood in the water. And she was drowning, drowning in a sea of pure sensation.

She moaned quietly when she felt a hot trail of wet warmth over her collarbone, lips nipping softly as they traced a trail over the sweep of her arched neck. Feeling completely boneless, she was pressed tighter against him and felt his blazing heat through his armour and layers of clothes. She melted as she was enfolded by this heat, his very presence overpowering the last of her defences as she was totally lost in him. Absentmindedly, she sensed her last grip on sanity fade as her whole body burned with pure need and sensation.

Time was a jerking, mad whirl of seconds that lasted forever and a blur of minutes that passed without realization. And after such an eternity beyond space and time she felt him reluctantly withdrawing from her. She mewled in protest when he finally had stepped out of their embrace and held her at arms length away from him, his hands lingering on her shoulders. His eyes were dark, clouded with want and need, reflecting her own agonized longing.

"Miko," he murmured quietly, "this is magic…and that is all it is."

Although she heard his silky voice, she barely registered his words, her body still burning and tingling at the places he had touched her.

But then she froze in shock and horror as she heard another, more familiar voice yell angrily, "Take your rotten hands of her, Sesshoumaru, or I'll make you regret it for the rest of your sorry youkai existence!"


	9. Come Undone

_A/N: Hi everyone! So this is the censored version of my next chapter. If you are of age and interested in reading the lemon, you can find the whole chapter at "A Single Spark" archive._

_Special thanks go to CiraArana, Noacat and DaughterofAeris for beta and support!_

_Please Review!_

Chapter 9: Come Undone

The campfire was crackling merrily while the small group of shard hunters sat around it and waited more or less patiently for their dinner to be ready. Kagome stirred the big pot of ramen with a wooden spoon, completely lost in her thoughts. The last week of her life had been hell and there was no hope of improvement anytime soon. Seven days and five hours ago, Sesshoumaru had ended her life in a very different way than she had feared before. Seven days and five hours ago he had efficiently spared her the trouble of finding a way to tell her friends how exactly she had come to be bonded to him. Seven days and five hours ago he had spoken the words, which were burned into her memory forever. She would be able to remember the exact nuance of his smooth, cool voice on each and every single day for the rest of her life. He had stood behind her in all his pristine glory, facing a very enraged Inuyasha, speaking as loudly and clearly as it was necessary for all of her friends to hear: "Your miko seems to have plans of her own, half-breed. She took care of my injuries, lay with me and now she is bonded to me, meaning that she can use her holy powers in my presence only." And it had taken him just one sentence…

Shock. Panic. Utter mortification. Above the roaring of her own blood in her ears, she had been able to hear the scandalized gasps of her friends. But Inuyasha hadn't believed Sesshoumaru's words, hadn't believed she had betrayed him and asked her if it was true. She had just been able to nod and her heart had broken as she had seen the expression of complete and utter betrayal on Inuyasha's face. She couldn't remember clearly how the conversation had continued from that point on, being fully consumed by guilt and desperation. Miroku, the only one except Sesshoumaru who had not been too shocked to think straight, somehow had convinced the taiyoukai to join forces with them until Naraku was dead. Obviously, after Rin's abduction, killing Naraku was one of Sesshoumaru's top priorities as he had finally agreed. His conditions were simple: He would aid them in their battles if Kagome promised to follow him everywhere he wanted if the bond still existed after Naraku's demise. How and if Miroku had managed to convince or overrule Inuyasha, she couldn't tell. Maybe the hanyou had given in to reason, as she was completely worthless without her ability to detect Shikon shards or he had simply resigned because the person he had trusted most had betrayed him in the worst way possible. Kikyo had never betrayed him like that, she had been tricked by Naraku. But Kagome had had a choice…

Inuyasha hated her. He hadn't spoken to her once since the incident and spent his time often away from their camp. The rest of her friends had taken the news surprisingly well, each of them in their own individual way. Sango was too much the distant and professional huntress to let it show if she hated Kagome for what she had done. Miroku, on the other hand, seemed to harbour some kind of understanding for her situation. And Shippo was simply too young to grasp the full impact of what had been revealed to them, while Kirara behaved as usually.

After their silent meal, Kagome practically ran over the meadow towards the small pond, eager to get away from the camp and all the misery she felt there. When she reached it, she placed the basket with their dirty pottery next to her on the ground and sat down heavily. A flash of red and white on the other side of the pond caught her eye.

"Inuyasha," she whispered in the darkness.

Hearing her hushed voice, the hanyou paused in his stride and overlooked the area. When he saw Kagome sitting by the waterside, gazing at him with her huge, pleading eyes, he quickly turned to leave.

"Inuyasha!" she called out loud this time.

As much as he wanted to, he was unable to leave. Refusing to turn towards her, he remained standing in the spot she had first seen him.

"What do you want, wench?" he snapped and Kagome's heart clenched. These were the first words he had spoken to her in a week and she could hear all his anger and frustration ringing in his harsh voice.

"Look at me, Inuyasha, please. I need to talk to you so badly. Please…" and before she could say anymore, he had moved to her side of the pond and came to stand in front of her. His movements had been too fast for her eyes and she gasped in shock as he emerged directly in her line of vision.

"And what do you want to tell me?" he snarled, "what it was like when he touched you? When he fucked you?"

Kagome couldn't breathe, his blatant anger was suffocating her. Her face was ashen as she stared at him with disbelief. She had expected him to be really mad at her, but not the plain hatred that shone from his sun-kissed eyes. Tears were prickling behind her eyes as she somehow managed to find her voice.

"Oh gods, Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. It means nothing to me! He means nothing to me. Believe me, if I had just one wish, I would wish that it had never happened," she pleaded despairingly.

"You," he hissed, pointing a clawed finger at her accusingly, "I trusted you. I always thought you were too pure to be touched, but…but you threw yourself at HIM like a whore!" His arm had begun to tremble so badly that he had to lower it slowly. Pain flashed over his handsome features as he desperately tried to grasp a reason for her betrayal.

"Inuyasha, please …" she began.

'_Don't say these words, I know them all by heart.'_

"You betrayed me…all of us! You are no better than the rest of them. You lied when you said it didn't matter to you what I was," he stated hollowly, ignoring her completely.

"I did not. I never lied to you!" she cried, realizing too late that she had indeed.

"No? But you took the first opportunity to throw yourself at my youkai half-brother. And if it hadn't been for him boasting about his spectacular conquest, you would have never told me, would you? Don't I even deserve your honesty?" he yelled.

Then he paused slightly, shaking his head, before he went on in a despairingly soft voice: "Is he so much better than me? Faster, stronger, yes, perhaps he is. But you, I never though you to be like this..."

Kagome's heart broke for him. His pain was unbearable for her, it made her heart ache and ripped the air from her body. She would sell her soul to put a stop to his misery. Never, never had she intended to hurt him. And just now the terrible truth of her nightmare came crashing down on her. His heart had been ripped out, but it was her who twisted it within bloody fingers.

Slowly, she got up to face him in a last attempt to save what had been sacred to her since meeting him three years ago, weeping silently as she did.

"Inuyasha," she whispered softly, looking straight into his eyes, "I swear he is nothing to me. I… I love you, I've always loved you…"

He moved before she could have finished her sentence. When she felt his hands close around her shoulders, claws digging into her flesh painfully, her body went rigid from shock. He had never hurt her before.

"Don't you dare playing with me, wench! I'm not as stupid as you think! You are a whore and a liar. I don't believe a single word you say!" he yelled and pushed her away from him. Kagome tumbled backwards and hit the ground hard. When she looked up again, the hanyou was gone.

"Inuyasha!" she sobbed brokenly, before she collapsed on the ground. Then she felt the tears welling up again. She cried, cried for his pain and her own, for his loss and for her own. How could she? How could she have ever betrayed him like that? And in this one terrible moment she had told him what she had never dared to reveal before. But it shouldn't have happened like this, with pure hatred shining from his eyes.

And he hadn't believed her. But how could he? How could he not know it was true, that she loved him unconditionally, always had? How could he have never noticed? How? It had shone from each word, each gesture, bright and true. She would die for him…

The pain was too much. It forced her flat on the ground, sobbing hysterically, hands clenching into the soft soil beneath her. She couldn't breath, couldn't think. And as she felt herself dissolving slowly, a despairing scream of hollow, throbbing agony was ripped from her throat. How long it lasted, she couldn't tell, and she didn't particularly care. Everything faded into blackness, when she felt her pieces scatter across the world, disappearing into the darkness of the night, never to come together again.

But, after what might have been an eternity, when she finally did come together again and consciousness returned, cold and alone in the night, she knew she had come together wrong.

Her mind and body felt numb and for a moment she held the hope that none of this had been real, but truth caught up with her brutally. Although sadness tried to overwhelm her again, she had no energy left to cry any more. For some time she just lay there, mind blank and unable to move. She never wanted to move again, there simply was no reason for doing so.

Eventually, she came to the decision that she didn't want to spend the rest of her days lying on the cold ground by this pond. Although she couldn't see them right now, there had to be some better alternatives. Steadily, she sat up and brushed the dry leaves from her hair and clothing. Then she pulled the basked with dirty pottery towards her and began to do what she had originally come for.

There was no way she could ever be happy again. Her life was over and she felt like nothing more than an empty shell. Hollow. She walked, ate, fought and slept, but she was empty, dead. There was no feeling except guilt and unbearable sadness. If she drowned in this pond now, she was sure that it would make no difference at all. It simply didn't matter anymore.

"Miko." The familiar voice sent a shiver down her spine and the last bowl escaped her grip, drifting towards the middle of the pond languidly.

Kagome cursed under her breath. He was really the last thing she needed now. She wanted Inuyasha, him and only him! And although she knew that she didn't deserve his love one bit, in the depths of her soul she wished nothing more than for him to come to her now, forgive her and comfort her.

"Please, leave me alone," she whispered quietly.

"No," was his stoic reply.

Signing, Kagome wiped her nose on a white handkerchief. "I beg you, Sesshoumaru, I really want to be alone," she said weakly.

"But I do not wish to leave," he stated and sat down next to her gracefully. Kagome wanted to purify him to Hell, but couldn't muster the energy to even try.

"Why do you always cry, miko?" he asked without any warning.

Kagome's train of thought was stopped efficiently. What an odd question. Turning her red-eyed face towards him, she gazed into his solemn one.

"Because I'm sad," she said simply.

"It is a stupid thing to do. It changes nothing," he said, voice void of emotion.

"Have you come to insult me? There is simply nothing else I could do except cry, so I stick to the only thing possible," she snapped, suddenly very annoyed with him. How was it possible that only a few words from him could make her feel even worse?

Sesshoumaru was completely unimpressed by her sudden flare of temper. "Most of the time there is nothing one can do about the things that happen. What is coming will come and we meet it when it does. That is karma. Regrets are futile as they can neither change the past nor influence the future."

For a moment, Kagome just stared at him. She hadn't suspected that he ever thought about such things. And probably he was even right. Regrets were futile, but she couldn't help to regret the loss of the love of her life. She would lament this loss forever because it hurt more than she had ever thought possible. She felt new tears welling up behind her eyes and tried desperately to will her thoughts away. But it was impossible. This large, black thing, the knowledge that Inuyasha hated her, would never love her after what had happened, was constantly tearing and clawing at her heart. And regret was the only thing that was left for her.

Then, before she could do anything about it, a heartbreaking sob escaped her slightly parted lips and she began to cry anew. The next thing she new was that she was weeping desperately into the demon lord's shoulder, not caring if she made a fool of herself again. And the tears simply wouldn't cease. She cried out all her mind-shattering agony and her small frame shook and trembled with the force of her emotion.

To say that Sesshoumaru was surprised by the odd human's behaviour was an understatement. It hadn't been his intention to make her cry more. He still hadn't really grasped the whole concept of weeping. Obviously, it was a human expression of sadness or of fear. But whatever it really meant, the habit was most annoying. Although he had to admit that it wasn't unpleasant to have her in his arms again.

After one week of denying his extreme, almost unbearable attraction to the miko, the demon lord had decided that enough was enough. If this cursed bond forced him, for a certain timeframe, to be attracted to a human, this was most annoying and humiliating, but in the end there was nothing he could do about it. Most likely the ningen wouldn't live long enough to tell the tale and if Naraku or one of his minions didn't manage to end her miserable existence, he still could see to it himself after repaying his debt.

After some long minutes, Kagome had calmed visibly. Most likely it was due to the influence of their bond, but being physically near to him made her feel better almost instantly. It was an odd thing and very disturbing. She had felt the physical pull towards him during the whole week, but had somehow managed to avoid him almost completely. Now she involuntarily felt how contentment was spreading through her whole body. The weeping had ebbed away and she sighed softly as she lifted her head to look at him. His face was blank, no friendly expression, no compassion and no understanding.

What was he to her? He made her feel better although he didn't understand her, didn't even try to. He was as far away as anybody could possibly be. He was youkai and she was human, a miko on top of that. He was made of the same stuff as the demons she destroyed with her holy powers. Still she was undeniably bonded to him. How could fate be so strange, so cruel?

The demon gazed down at her with his unreadable expression that showed neither happiness nor anger nor sadness. For a brief moment she wondered whether he felt such things at all.

"Do you hate me?" she asked suddenly. And although she had no idea where this question had come from or why it was important, she simply had to know.

Nothing in his expression changed as he replied simply, "No more than any other human."

Well, what had she expected him to say, anyway. Still she felt some relief. 'At least it is nothing personal,' she thought dryly.

Again she had no idea why his words mattered to her at all, as it wasn't important what he thought. He wasn't important to her in any way. All he was to her was a regrettable accident. But still…

"I'm sorry," she murmured uncertainly, trying to get a grip on herself, "I didn't mean to cry all over you again."

Sesshoumaru didn't reply and continued to just look at her. Again Kagome was fascinated with his eyes. In spite of the warm colour they appeared to be cold as ice, devoid of all emotional warmth. Just once she had seen the hard amber melting, and this had been a sight that had taken her breath away. A sudden stab of longing shot through her as she thought about this one night of passion, the accident. His physical nearness alone made her feel needy and muzzy. Although she tried very hard, there was no way to deny how much she was attracted to him.

She wanted, again she wanted with all her being. But she had none of the things she wanted. Nothing was like she wanted it to be. And Sesshoumaru was definitely not what she wanted. But he was here…

And for some unbelievable, odd reasons he seemed to want her. His hands had begun to move up and down her back and sides slowly and he bent his head into the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. His warm breath ghosted over her skin sending a violent shiver down her spine. She was boneless against him, hot and still wanting. But this was wrong, wrong, wrong,WRONG!

And, for once, her mind overruled her instinct and magic driven body. With an inhuman effort she managed to push him a way.

Sesshoumaru looked up at her, slightly surprised. Gazing at him briefly, she almost felt bad for denying him. "We...I can't do that…" she stammered and added hastily, "sorry". Then she got up shakily. But the youkai lord caught her wrist and held her back.

"Why is it wrong?" he asked her stoically, studying her inquisitively. "You are but a simple human, you should feel honoured."

Kagome turned back towards him lividly. The nerve of him…She thought she would burst from sheer indignation and suddenly all passion was forgotten. '_How dare he, the presumptuous jerk?'_ she thought hotly.

"Yes, I'm human and yes, humans do not have youkai abilities, but that doesn't mean we are all inferior to you!" she snapped, shooting him a glare that rivalled one of his own. But it was completely lost on him as he just raised an elegant eyebrow and drawled,

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" she hissed, struggling against his iron grip unsuccessfully.

Sesshoumaru smirked. She looked pretty like this, for a human that was. Her eyes were blazing with fire and her holy powers were pulsating through her body. Her chin was raised proudly in defiance, her back rigid and tense. And to his own surprise he found that she was much more susceptible to him like this then she had been a few minutes ago.

With a swift movement of his wrist he pulled her back to the ground against him. She landed on her backside with an "eep" but promptly resumed her struggle with even more vigour.

"Let me go this instant!" she demanded shrilly.

"No", he replied firmly, "I thought you might tell me about the advantages of being human first."

That stopped Kagome's struggles efficiently. It was simply too much to process. He wanted her to do WHAT? Her dazed mind supplied two possibilities for his motivation to ask such a thing, one as unbelievable as the other. Either, he really wanted to hear her opinion about humans and demons or he was being playful with her!

'_Stop the world, this can't be happening_' she mused, before she turned her head to look at his face and gain some insight into his intentions. And she stopped dead in her move.

There were no words to describe the sight he made. It wasn't just for one creature to be so beautiful, so perfect. His expression was different from whenever she had looked at him before, but she couldn't name it. His mesmerizing eyes were softer and he was smirking at her lightly. The gentle moonlight highlighted his aristocratic features and gave his skin an ethereal glow.

Then he brought up his free hand and trailed his fingers over her cheek down her neck very carefully. Kagome shivered violently not from cold but from the pure need that shot through her unprepared body because of this simple touch. '_No fair_', she thought dejectedly, as she felt all her resistance and good intentions crash around her. What had somebody who had gambled with his luck and had already lost everything left to loose anyway?

And that was that.

Sliding her arms around him and hiding her heated face in the crook of his neck, she pressed her body against his desperately, wanting. Sesshoumaru lost no time and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her in his lap effortlessly. The sudden, full contact with his warm body made her feel light-headed and dizzy. His hands were roaming her body greedily, while he nudged her head back with his to gain access to her exposed throat. Licking and nipping his way down towards her collarbone, he delighted in the small noises of pleasure she made. But it wasn't nearly enough, he needed, wanted more and waiting any longer was unacceptable.

Kagome felt like in a dream, floating along without any connection to the world around her. All that mattered was him. He was perfect, beautiful, wanting her. And he felt so good against her. A sharp tug on her shirt followed by a ripping sound brought her out of her dazed state quickly. Looking down her body she saw that Sesshoumaru had disposed of said shirt very efficiently and was now slicing her bra with a sharp claw.

Kagome's mouth went dry and she gulped hollowly when he began to cup one breast roughly with his hand using the other to push her back on the ground. As soon as he was satisfied with her position, he pushed up her skirt and spread her thighs forcefully, coming to lie on top of her.

'_Too fast'_, her dizzy mind supplied while she was wondering where all the pleasant feelings had gone so quickly. Suddenly she remembered the pain she had experienced when he had taken her the last time. Her body went rigid with fright and the dizziness began to vanish rapidly.

"No, don't…" she managed to croak out before he could start to shred the rest of her clothing to pieces.

The smell of her fear hit his senses heavily and although it was pleasing and exciting to his more primal half, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the female. Her usually so pliant body had stiffened and she had ceased producing any sounds at all. With a growl he tore his mouth away from her delicious skin and raised his head to look at her face.

Relieve flooded her panicked mind when the youkai lord lifted his head and gazed at her. Although his eyes were scalding hot and he didn't appear to be very pleased at being interrupted.

"Please, I…we…not like this," she stammered, stumbling over her words, feeling nervous and embarrassed.

Sesshoumaru didn't comprehend what she was trying to communicate at all and he definitely wasn't in the mood for talking. His mind was still foggy with desire and need and so he lowered his head back to her torso and resumed lapping and nipping at her breasts not too gently, while he began to undo the fastenings of his hakamas with one hand.

Swearing colourfully in her mind, Kagome wondered how she always managed to get into such situations. Yes, she had enjoyed it very much a few minutes ago, and yes, she had provoked his actions. But damn it, what did he think he was doing now?

"Sesshoumaru, stop. It…it doesn't work like this," she said desperately and blushed a deep shade of red.

Sesshoumaru was at a loss. What was wrong with her? He had never talked to a female while laying with her, heck, he hardly talked to females at all. Besides, he was pretty sure that it would work like this…Still, he had never stooped so low as to take an unwilling woman and so, with an enormous effort, he took a deep breath and managed to control his urges. Again he stopped his ministrations and took a look at her.

"What is it that you want, girl?" he growled impatiently.

Flinching slightly, Kagome said the first thing that came to her mind: "You would have to be gentle with me." And if possible, she blushed even harder than before.

Despite the situation, Sesshoumaru couldn't help his curiosity. Never, in his long life, had he been asked such a thing. But she was different from all he knew and when he had had her that first time in the forest, it had been different from all he knew, too. And since then he dreamed of her and wanted her like he had never wanted any other before. Still, it wasn't in his nature to be gentle with anything and he was not sure to know what it was she demanded from him.

"How?" He asked huskily, still hovering above her.

'_Oh gods,'_ Kagome groaned mentally. His apparent ignorance in the matter endeared him to her very much and the husky quality of his voice sent hot tingles through her body. But how should she of all people know how to have good sex? It wasn't as if she was an expert, really. Aside her first time with him, she knew not much more than the basic facts and some gossip from the other girls about their experiences. And besides, she had always assumed he knew…

Taking a deep breath to calm her fluttering heartbeat, she moved into a sitting position. Sesshoumaru let her, staring at her as he came to kneel in front of her. She was naked to the waist and he was definitely not staring at her face. A rush of heat shot through her body straight to her core at the desire she could see in his golden eyes and her embarrassment was forgotten.

Emboldened by his evident fascination with her body, she grasped his hand and placed it on her breast carefully. Hearing his sharp intake of breath her eyes flew up to his face and she graced him with a small smile. Entwining her fingers with his, she moved his hand over her upper body slowly. She enjoyed the touches much more than she had expected and after a short time the situation wasn't nearly as awkward as in the beginning.

Without removing his hand, the demon lord sat down and pulled her in his lap again with the other. Kagome's head rested comfortably on his shoulder as they continued the slow exploration of her body. Tracing the gentle sweep of her neck softly, their hands moved over her shoulder, down her arm and up again. Her skin was tingling pleasantly wherever he touched her. Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned back into him. No longer guiding his movements, she sensed his feather light touches on her collarbone and down the valley of her breasts. His fingers felt hot against her cool skin and her palm.

Spreading his fingers, Sesshoumaru slowly traced her ribcage, marvelling at the softness of her skin. She sighed again when he began to move his hands over her flat stomach, languidly circling her navel with his index finger. She was boneless against him, completely relaxed. And Sesshoumaru couldn't help but wonder at the trust she placed in him, as he could have hurt her so easily.

She moaned quietly, soft lips parted against his neck, as he began to caress her side, her fingers still entwined with his own. Having never taken the time to look at a woman's body so closely, he enjoyed himself much more than he could have foreseen. Slowly, he slid his fingers over the exposed arch of her hipbone that stood in sharp contrast to her tiny waist.

Then he guided their hands up her body towards the swell of her breast. Her breath hitched in her throat as his hand slid back on her breasts and his fingers brushed a sensitive nipple. Halting their movement, Sesshoumaru repeated the action and Kagome moaned. Quickly, he brought up his free hand to cup her other breast carefully this time, while he continued to brush his thumb over the other one.

Kagome shifted in his lap restlessly as she moaned softly under his ministrations and Sesshoumaru was shocked when he finally became aware of his own need for her. The heady smell of her arousal had been invading his senses for sometime and he was intrigued by the little noises of delight she made.

When he lowered his head to her neck and began nibbling at her pulse point, Kagome couldn't help the loud moan that escaped her mouth. Sesshoumaru groaned. She smelled absolutely edible. Licking her neck gently, he found that she tasted even better than she smelled.

Suddenly desperate to touch his skin, Kagome let go of his hand and began to tug at his sash to undo his haori. It took him a moment to figure out what she wanted. And when he brought up his hands to help her, they were shaking almost as badly as her own. Finally they managed to undo the knots and she shoved the garment over his shoulders impatiently.

Without losing another second, she pressed her hands onto his chest. Trailing them over his well shaped body, she felt the heat radiating off his silken skin. His strong heart was beating madly beneath her palm and she could feel his muscles quiver under her touches, as she stroked her hands down his stomach. One of his hands had moved down to her hips and she could feel his grip tighten fractionally as she caressed his body. Encouraged by his reaction to her touches, she pressed a chaste kiss on his collarbone. He growled softly and Kagome continued to trace a path of butterfly kisses down his chest.

Insert lemon here :-)

When it was over, Sesshoumaru collapsed on top of her, panting heavily, skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat. His head rested against the crook of her neck and his eyes were closed while he slowly recovered from the strain.

Kagome felt vivid and absolutely exhausted at the same time. His warm breath was causing pleasant tingles on her sensitive skin and she sighed softly. For a short moment, she felt absolute bliss.

In her dreams it would have been like that, passionate, yet gentle, the eerie glow of the moonlight surrounding their heated bodies. But it was not him that she had wanted for so long and just like her dreams that were not meant to last longer than one night, the moment of happiness was gone.

Because sometimes, sorely, the greatest passion meant just desire, not love.


End file.
